Gabriel Elder book II of the Warlock Series

Breena arrived at the cave and saw two of the villagers lying on the ground. Evidently, they had attempted to stop Gabriel and Apollo and they had paid the price for doing so. She stopped long enough to check on their condition. They were alive, just knocked out. As she was checking them, the female began to come to.

“We tried to stop the one called Gabriel, but he struck us so fast, we couldn’t do anything about it. We didn’t even alter forms! Why didn’t we alter our forms? What kind of magic does he have? He kept us from changing!” the female babbled.

“He is your clan elder now, that’s why! Why did you try to stop him? He can enter the cave whenever he wants,” Breena said.

“But he is only our leader in name, not by the power of the gift. That was given to you, Banchara explained it all to us,” the female replied as she tried to stand up.

“No, Banchara lied to you. Grandfather divided the gift, I have half and Gabriel has half. He is your clan elder and you shouldn’t have tried to stop him,” Breena said as she stood and walked on into the cave.

Still, she was baffled by what the female villager had said. If she was in danger of being hurt by Gabriel, she should have altered forms without even thinking about it. It was a defense mechanism and happened without thought or will. What had prevented her and the male from changing?

She walked into the cave and could see a weak light coming from deep within. As she rounded the corner and entered the chamber, she could see a lone set of lit candles on the desk. On the ground, against the wall, behind the desk she could see Gabriel and Apollo. Neither one looked up at her when she entered. She walked across the room and knelt at their feet and crawled up onto Gabriel’s lap. He was reclined against the wall and she put her head against his heart and listened to it beat. He sat motionless as she held him tightly.

Tears began to fall from her eyes as she tried to convince herself that somehow, Gabriel could control the creature inside of him. Somehow, he wouldn’t hurt her or Apollo, or all of humanity for that matter. She sobbed silently as she tried to come to grips with what Banchara had told her. After five minutes of this, Gabriel put his arms around her and drew her up to his face. He kissed her softly and gently on the eyelids and across her nose.

With each kiss, Breena became more and more convinced Banchara was wrong. She just had to be!

“I think I know what Banchara was trying to tell you,” Gabriel said, “I was looking for matches to light the candle when I found this.

He handed Breena a note with a handwritten message on it. She strained to read it through her tear stained eyes and with only the candles lighting the chamber. She could see it was Grandfather’s handwriting. As she read it out loud, she could feel the tears landing on her head from Gabriel. Even the warlock had no idea why he was crying. Since he received the gift, he was being flooded with emotions he had never truly felt before.

Apollo came and laid next to Breena. He knew they were hurting and he wanted to help.

“My dear grandson, I have left you with three things. I know they might not be enough, but they’re all I have to give. I have left you my Breena, the most precious thing I have left. Since I lost my son, your father, I have long wondered who would be strong enough to accept the gift of the clan. Breena can’t do it alone and I doubt you could either. Only by splitting the gift will either of you have a chance to survive its power.

If you read the scrolls, you will discover the history of the clans. Once, long ago, the clans were of one land and all one people. With each successive generation, the gift became more and more powerful. Finally, the gift was so strong it destroyed the home of the Scythians, a place referred to by many as Atlantis. The survivors were scattered around the world and as they slowly returned to the remains of the homeland, they began to accumulate the gift once more.

Knowing it would eventually grow to destroy the clan again, the council decreed the clans must split up, each council member would take a portion of the Scythians and find a new place to call home. They took a portion of the gift with them. The clans soon learned they had to divide the gift up even more. It had to be held between two members to keep it in check. This would help keep the gift from growing too strong and keep it safe within the clan.

With that knowledge, I knew I could divide up my own gift between the two of you. There have been many transgressions in the past which allowed our clan’s gift to grow far beyond what it should have been. They are all listed in the archives, but they matter little now. All that matters now is that we have the strongest gift of all the clans on this planet. An energy which is almost impossible to contain within one Scythian vessel.

It will require you to become a permanent member of the clan, without you they will cease to exist. One of the secrets known only to a very few is that the energy of the gift is what gives the Scythians the ability to change to our elemental forms. Those who have removed themselves from the clans have found, after years away, their abilities to assume their elemental forms are either gone or greatly diminished.

They were warned of this, but they rarely believed. They convince themselves it’s only a lie told to keep them with the clan. Only too late do they realize the truth of it. That is the reason why most of them return to their clans. Living without the ability to change, is like asking a bird not to fly.

I am sorry Gabriel, I know this may not be the life you would have chosen, but it is the nature of things that we rarely get to choose what we want. Know that your life, and those of Breena and Apollo will be extraordinarily long and I hope filled with much love and joy.”

Breena didn’t know what to say and neither did Gabriel. She dropped the paper and then she curled up on his lap and he held her as Apollo placed his head on their laps and watched over them. Breena cried openly. They were both so young and yet it seemed like their lives were over. It seemed impossible to go on, knowing the end was destined to be what it was. Either Gabriel would kill her and everyone else, or Breena would somehow be forced to kill Gabriel. She couldn’t even bring herself to talk about it.

Only Apollo knew there was a third option. He had no intention of losing either Breena or Gabriel. He could care less about the rest of the life on Earth, but he would not lose either of these two. Grandfather had a vision where he saw what Gabriel might become one day. It was a possibility the elder wasn’t willing to accept.

Apollo had been shown a third possibility by Grandfather and that was why the wolf had been given a portion of the gift as well. It was the one thing which had fascinated grandfather the most. He knew he could split the gift if he was strong enough, but he had no idea if it would work to divide it three ways. He also had no way of knowing if he could give a portion of it to a non-Scythian. Would the gift allow such a thing?

Unlike humans who see animals as another species altogether, Scythians saw little difference between animals and humans. Being one third human and one third animal, they were in a unique position to see the two species as equals. They, more than any other creature, realized animals often have the same emotions, desires and thinking processes as humans. Other than appearance, there were fewer differences than most humans wanted to believe.

The three of them stayed like that for several hours. Finally, long after darkness had fallen, they heard voices outside the cave. Breena rolled off Gabriel’s lap, kissed him lightly on the lips and headed for the entrance to see what was going on. Gabriel wasn’t about to let Breena face whatever it was alone so he and Apollo followed her closely.

Outside, the moon was up and there was a small campfire built outside the cave. Sitting in front of the fire were three villagers. In the center was Banchara. As soon as Apollo saw her, he began to growl. The three of them sat there and didn’t move as Breena walked up to them. Gabriel and Apollo stayed back near the cave entrance, but they were close enough to hear the conversation.

“Why are you here?” Breena demanded of Banchara.

“Because you were right. I didn’t think things through and I shouldn’t have tried to force Gabriel to change into his animal form. I’ve always counted on grandfather to do the thinking and the planning. Without him, I am lost,” she answered.

Breena stared at the old woman and felt sorry for her. She had forgotten Banchara and grandfather had consulted daily on how best to lead the clan and to deal with the constant problems of the villagers. Breena could feel sorry for her, but that didn’t mean she could forgive her for trying to kill Gabriel.

Banchara looked across the fire at Gabriel and continued, “I know what you are destined to become, but I was wrong to think I could change it. I was only thinking of the clan. They are like my children and I would do anything to protect them. The gift which was within grandfather was more than strong enough for this clan, my meager gift is no longer of any real value and it hasn’t been for a long time. I am leaving the clan.”

Breena was shocked. She wasn’t sure what she had expected, but this wasn’t one of the possibilities. She had never heard of a clan elder, leaving a clan before. Was Banchara planning on taking some of the clan with her? Would they still follow her after what they saw this afternoon?

Gabriel sat in silence. He was still upset Banchara had tried to have him killed. He knew if he spoke up, it would unleash the anger within him and he was trying to leave it up to Breena to find out what was going on. Breena wasn’t sure why Banchara was here, telling them any of this. Did she expect them to talk her out of it?

Banchara looked at the silent couple and continued, looking and talking to Breena as if Gabriel wasn’t there, “I am here to offer you some little bit of knowledge. It might be of use to you and I want you to understand why I did what I did. First, Gabriel’s elemental being is a fire creature. They are rare and can be hard to control.

Fortunately, they can only hold that form for a minute at a time. Unfortunately, due to the tremendous strength I have seen within him, Gabriel might be capable of maintaining the fire form for much longer. That leads to another problem, Gabriel could easily be consumed by the very fire he becomes. Unlike all the other elemental forms, the longer a fire creature is maintained, the more likely it will burn up all trace of the Scythian inside. When he feels the fire weakening he must allow it to leave and return to his human form. Every second he resists, his chances of being consumed are greater.

Secondly, the Scythian council are coming to our village. They will be here soon and they are coming to interrogate Gabriel. They want to know what he is and how he managed to convince Grandfather to pass on the clan’s gift to him. If they do not like his answers, they will remove the gift. You are in no danger from them and you need to assist them in their investigation. If the gift is to be removed, you will likely inherit all of it.”

Breena gasped. She looked at Banchara and then at Gabriel and then back at the old woman.

“How could you?” Breena demanded of the elder.

“I had no choice. We all know Grandfather was ill and there is no proof this…this…abomination, is his grandson. It is true he has somehow managed to inherit some of the qualities of a Scythian, but for all we know he found a way to steal those abilities from another Scythian. The council will decide the truth and they will deal with the matter,” Banchara insisted.

“Grandfather was ill, but he still wasn’t half as crazy as you are! You couldn’t do the job yourself, so you decided to use the council to do it for you?” I will not help them and in fact I will fight them every step of the way. Grandfather told me I was one of the strongest Scythians he had ever known, in some ways I was stronger than he was. Now we’ll see if I’m stronger than the entire council, you… old witch!” Breena seethed.

Gabriel spoke up for the first time, “I have nothing to hide. They can interrogate me all they wish. I never claimed to be Grandfather’s grandson, he made that claim. As for how I ended up being part Scythian, I can’t answer that either. I am what I am.”

“You don’t understand Gabriel; they aren’t coming to ask you questions. They are coming to remove the gift Grandfather passed on to us. The gift is a part of you now, and it can only be removed by killing you. Banchara has signed your death warrant,” Breena explained.

“Is that true?” Gabriel asked Banchara.

The elder simply hung her head.

“I will give you exactly five minutes to leave my sight and never return. The next time I see you, I will kill you, law or no law,” Breena threatened Banchara.

“I do not fear you child,” Banchara began. “I too have the gift and you can no more hurt me than…

She never got to finish her sentence. She was suddenly enveloped in a black mist. As an air elemental, Breena could manipulate the compounds within the air. Right now, she was removing the oxygen from the air around the old woman. There were sparks as Breena’s energy came in close contact with Banchara’s, but the young woman would not yield. She was going to show the elder something even if it hurt. She didn’t have to actually touch her, just remove the air from around her and she would run out of oxygen soon enough.

After several minutes, Breena finally pulled away and resumed her human form. Banchara was gasping for breath. Another few seconds and she would have been dead and she knew it. She had tried to shift to her elemental form but had found she could not. Somehow, Breena was keeping her in her human form. That wasn’t supposed to be possible! Just how strong was this female Scythian?

As the old woman sat up, still gasping for air, Breena looked right at her and declared, “You only have one-minute left to get out of my sight and never return. Make sure you let the council know what they are facing if they plan to intervene in this clan’s leadership.”

Banchara rolled over onto all fours and began to crawl away. She had no doubt Breena meant exactly what she said. For the first time Banchara fully understood what Grandfather had seen all along. She also began to wonder if she was wrong to fear Gabriel instead of Breena. From what she had just experienced, Breena might be even more deadly if she was made mad enough.

As the old woman crawled away in the night, the other two villagers backed away and headed quickly for the village. They would have to tell everyone what had happened and what they had heard. Many would be disappointed Breena had attacked their elder. They would also be very frightened. If the Scythian council was indeed coming to these woods and they were intent on taking the gift from Gabriel, it would most likely mean an end to this clan.

They would never be accepted by another clan and they would end their days all alone. Any indication they were going to reveal the Scythian’ secret to the outside world would be the end for them. If they spent any time around humans, they would eventually change forms and be discovered. That would also put them on the destroy list by the other Scythians. There was no way a Scythian could exist for long without the clan and the safety of their villages.

Gabriel looked at Breena. He saw tears in her eyes. He knew how much she hated having to treat Banchara that way, even if she deserved it.

“I’m sorry, this is all my fault,” he began.

“No, no it’s not your fault!” Breena interrupted. “You had no control over the circumstances of your birth, no more than any of us did. Your life has been a lonely, loveless existence. Now you have Apollo and you have me. We love you and we will stand beside you, or in front of you, but we will not abandon you!

If anyone is to blame, it’s Grandfather. I loved him, but why he chose us to receive the gift is beyond me. He told me the gift had grown within him to something too powerful for just one Scythian. It was killing him and he was sure it would kill anyone he passed it on to. He must have believed if he split it then the two of us could…”

She stopped and looked at Gabriel. Could it be Grandfather was smarter than all of them? How could he have known? The healing! That was how.

“What are you not telling me?” Gabriel asked. “Breena, I love you too, with all my heart, but you must be honest with me. I’ve dealt with people my entire life who wouldn’t tell me the truth. Even though they felt it was what was best for me, it still felt like I was being betrayed. I need you to tell me the truth, what is it about Grandfather and the gift you’re not telling me?”

Breena looked into his deep blue eyes and took a deep breath. He was right, he deserved to know the truth. She could never be certain because only Grandfather knew the truth, but she thought she now understood why he had split the gift between them. If she was right, it was both brilliant and daring at the same time.

“When Grandfather healed you, he was shocked by what he sensed within you. At first, I thought he was just shocked because you were a Scythian. As soon as he was finished with you he went off to consult the scrolls and the collected wisdom of the clan. Now, I think he was more shocked because when he healed you, he could see the forms you would be able to become as a Scythian.

Your fire element would have concerned him, but he would have known how to handle it. I believe he saw the same thing Banchara did and he looked for a way to save you from yourself. He split the gift up between us because he was certain if either of us had the entire gift on our own, it would kill us. But, he also wanted to give you a chance to have the strength to keep from killing yourself as a fire being and possibly from your animal form as well.

He also wanted to make sure you could never hurt me, accidentally or on purpose. By giving me half of the gift, he made sure that could never happen. The gift will not allow itself to be harmed in any way. Somehow, he made sure the gift understood that by splitting it, he was helping it, rather than hurting it. Otherwise, he never would have been able to do it,” Breena explained.

“But what is my animal form that has everyone so afraid? How could Grandfather, or anyone else, think I could ever willingly hurt you? He knew I was in love with you even before I admitted it to myself,” Gabriel declared.

Breena was afraid to say it out loud, for fear it would somehow unleash the creature within him.

“Do you remember being the fire creature in the village earlier today?” Breena asked.

“How does that answer my question?” Gabriel asked. “Of course, I remember.”

“No, do you really remember it? Were you in control or were you just a watcher with no control of what your body was doing?” Breena asked again.

“I was in…well, I remember it happened suddenly. I didn’t make it happen and I didn’t make it stop either, it just did it on its own. I guess I actually never did have control of it,” Gabriel whispered.

“That’s what I was talking about. It takes time to gain control of your elemental form and your animal form. The first time I changed into a wolf, I was running through the forest for hours before I gained enough control to revert to my human form. I still remember when I changed to the black mist. I was very afraid I would never be able to get all of me back together again. The first few times it just happened on its own.

Later, I began to understand if I relaxed my body and concentrated with my mind, I could control it. Now, I can do much more than control it, I am the master of it. Much of my ability is due to the teaching and training of Grandfather. He said it was my natural ability, but I know his training had a great deal to do with it. I can train you in the same way,” Breena explained.

“Does that mean you’re not going to tell me what my animal form is?” Gabriel asked.

“Not right now, my love. I think we should concentrate on helping you master your fire form first and then we shall deal with your animal form. The truth is, you may never change to that form. Your elemental form is so strong and you are already a gifted warrior, your inner self may never feel the need to convert to that form,” Breena said.

“Is it really that bad?” Gabriel asked.

“Yes…yes, it is Gabriel. If you ever become that creature, you will be one of the few to ever have done so. You will also most likely try to destroy all the life on the planet. You won’t be able to help yourself, it will be your nature. Our records and legends only talk about such a thing happening twice before, but it’s possible it has happened more than that, there was just no one left to tell of it,” Breena answered.

“Surely you could put me down before I hurt anyone else?” Gabriel asked.

With tears in her eyes Breena answered him, “If I had to, if it was the only way to save the rest of life on Earth, I would still choose to be with you or to be destroyed by you, rather than hurt you in any way Gabriel.”

Gabriel knew she meant it and it bothered him to think she would put him ahead of the rest of the life on Earth. He was having a hard time coming to terms with any creature, real or imaginary, that could possibly be so strong as to threaten all the life on Earth. Why couldn’t he be a mouse or even a duck? Ducks never hurt anyone.

Breena stepped up and slid into his arms

Gabriel handed her the note Grandfather had left for him, the one she had read earlier. This time though, he turned it over so she could finish reading what was on the back.

I do all of this because I have had a vision of the creature you will one day become. It is a creature few believe in, but it is as real as any other. Unfortunately, it is a deadly creature with no known fear or control. I can only hope that by giving you the strongest gift on Earth, you might be able to use it to gain control over the creature before it consumes every living thing.

If you cannot control it, then I have given Breena an equal portion of the gift, so she may be able to provide you with a merciful end. The two of you are destined to either live together for a very long time or to destroy each other saving all the other living creatures on the planet. I know the vision to be true and I have consulted the scrolls and the wisdom of our forefathers. This is the only possible way I can see for you to have any chance at life.

I’ve lost my wife, my son, and now I am destined to lose you Gabriel. That is too much to ask, even for an elder. I cannot tell you when you will assume the final form I have seen in my vision, but it will happen. You must make sure Breena and Tansi are there with you when it begins. They are the only chance you have of gaining control once you change.

Know that even though I have only known you for a few days, I love you Gabriel with all my heart. As much as I want to spend weeks, months and years with you, preparing you, I have decided I must pass on now. If you were to be forced to change without the gift inside you, there would be no chance for you to survive. You would either destroy everything, or I would be forced to destroy you myself, if such a thing is even possible. Either choice is more than my old heart could handle.

Know that I love you, as I did your father, and I do what I do, so you may find peace and love in your own way and in your own time.”

Grandfather

Breena read it and knowing she had been right didn’t help her feel any better about it. Deep in the pit of her stomach she was sure she would be faced with the choice of destroying her beloved Gabriel or allowing him to destroy the rest of the planet. She knew he would never hurt her, not even in his animal form, but what of Apollo? If Gabriel hurt or killed his brother, he might not be able to live with that. What would he do then, destroy himself?

“We don’t need to worry about your animal form right now, we have worse things to deal with,” Breena said.

“Worse than the end of the world?” Gabriel asked, “What could be worse than that?”

“Two things. First, we’ll have to deal with the Scythian council and that will be no easy feat. They can be quite persuasive and quite deadly when they want to be,” Breena started.

“And the second thing?” Gabriel asked.

“My cooking,” Breena answered. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving and since it’s just us and this fire, it looks like I’m going to have to cook.

Gabriel walked back into the cave and came back with a small bag of supplies. There were several survival meals inside the bag and he offered Breena the fried rice pouch and a bottle of water. The two of them started to laugh. Finally, a disaster Gabriel was prepared for.