WeatherMaker Hearts Desire Prologue

All three of the men stared open mouthed at him.

‘What?’ Arlen said shortly.

‘Amaia is my daughter’ Tristan repeated.

’Have you completely lost your mind?’ Farrell demanded.

‘No’ Tristan groaned, rolling his eyes at him. ‘And I don’t appreciate your tone of voice.’

‘How can you possibly be her father?’ Shawn asked him.

‘Don’t bother trying to reason with him’ Farrell said back to Shawn. ‘He’s obviously delusional.’

‘You’re right’ Arlen agreed. ‘He’s talking crap. Let’s just go.’

‘You weren’t there when she was born were you?’ Tristan called back to them as they made to walk away.

Farrell turned back to him.

‘I know all about Amaia. I watched her from a distance all her life as she grew; and I saw what happened on that day when Ramana was killed. That was…such a terrible tragedy.’

‘How do you know all of this?’ Farrell asked him.

‘Because’ Tristan answered. ‘I was the one who took her.’

In an instant Arlen was upon him. He had shoved him against the wall, the long blade of a knife pressed against Tristan’s throat.

‘Did you kill her?’ Arlen snarled.

‘No’ Tristan answered quickly, staring up into the sky as he tried to lean away from the blade, but to no avail. ‘My father’s men were responsible for her death.’

‘Then why did you take Amaia?’

‘To protect her.’

Arlen drew back from him, releasing the prince, but he did not put his knife away.

‘Dear dear’ Tristan said, straightening his clothes and rubbing his neck which trickled blood. ‘Temper temper.’

‘What do you mean by saying to protect her?’ Arlen asked.

‘Amaia is a Weather Maker. The king is kidnapping Weather Makers. One day one of his men saw Amaia use her magic; he sent a small group of soldiers out to collect her. That’s when I stepped in. I killed the men that had taken her, that had killed Ramana, and took Amaia myself. For years I kept her hidden, in that building you attacked. To protect her. But shortly before you came she escaped, to find you’ he said to Farrell.

‘Why is there a gravestone?’ Arlen asked.

Tristan sighed.

‘She was so devastated when she learnt that Ramana was dead, she jumped from one of the towers.’

‘And she didn’t die?’ Shawn asked incredulous.

‘Weather Makers have many powers’ Tristan replied simply.

‘She must have died’ Annabel spoke up suddenly. ‘If someone jumps from a tower to kill themselves…what are the odds of them failing to die?’

Tristan turned his eyes onto her.

‘You’re being deceitful,’ she said bravely.

‘What makes you say that?’ Shawn asked her.

Annabel narrowed her eyes in thought. ‘He’s not telling you the full story. Weather Makers have more than one life. The number depends on the individual, but if a Weather Maker dies, then her body is reincarnated in another form. That is how you lost her isn’t it?’ she said to Tristan.

He just smiled quietly at her, resigned.

‘And I’m sorry’ Annabel said to the others, ‘but when a Weather Maker is reincarnated their appearance changes and they forget everything that happened to them before they died. I’m sorry’ she said again, ‘but by the sound of it you probably won’t recognise Amaia if you ever see her, and she won’t remember any of you either.’

Arlen and Farrell fell silent as they both descended back into despair. Their task was becoming ever more impossible.

‘How do you know about that?’ Shawn asked Annabel unperturbed.

‘Because’ Annabel replied sadly. ‘I have died before. I fell climbing and broke my neck. I was only able to find my parents again because of my brother. Through him I relearned my past.’

‘So’ Arlen said recovering. ‘You want our help to find her because you’ve lost her.’

Tristan shrugged. ‘More or less.’

‘Why should we help you?’ Farrell accused. ‘You’re the one who took her.’

‘And lost her’ Arlen added quickly.

‘I took her for good reason’ Tristan argued back, folding his arms.

‘I’m going to make you pay for this’ Farrell threatened. ‘I’m going to kill you for what you’ve done.’

‘And what have I done?’ Tristan said in a level voice.

‘You took her away from me; away from everything she knew and loved!’

Tristan’s eyes flashed.

‘You really think she was better off with you?’

Farrell fell silent.

‘You’ve forgotten that day haven’t you?’ Tristan retaliated. He unfolded his arms as he spoke, his body tensed. ‘You’ve forgotten that day, when your wife tried to kill herself…’

‘Come home now!’ Amaia cried. ‘You must come home, mother needs you!’

‘Not now’ Farrell groaned turning away from her.

‘Her wrists are bleeding!’ Amaia sobbed, grabbing him again, her black hair falling about her face. ‘Please! Please help her!’

’You’ Tristan glowered. ‘You turned your back on your wife when she needed you the most. And after that tragic day, when she was killed and Amaia was missing…you didn’t even bother to look for her.’

‘I thought she was dead’ Farrell mumbled, blinking back tears.

‘You assumed’ Tristan snarled. ’It was one of my father’s men that stabbed Ramana…but it may as well have been you holding the sword.’

‘No…’ Farrell shook his head, stepping back.

‘You caused this’ Tristan went on. ‘And for what? The memory of a man you could not save…Brice…your dead brother… It must have been a hard time for you. But Arlen…who had lost his brother also did not give into despair.’ Tristan looked at him now, eyes deep. ‘You looked for her; you searched for Amaia…for years…I know…’ He looked back to Farrell, speaking to him now. ‘I offer you a deal. We are both looking for her. We stand a better chance of finding her if we work together.’

‘And what will happen if we find her?’ Farrell asked him reluctantly. ‘What will happen? Will you take her away from me again?’

‘I could give her a better life than you ever could’ Tristan answered coldly. ‘Just think about that.’

‘You’re wrong’ Arlen spoke up. ‘For years she was happy.’

‘Just consider my offer’ Tristan spoke turning back to his horse. ‘My home is north of Blackrain, it’s easy enough to find…when you want to find me. I will wait for you there.’

He mounted his horse, and made a swift exit.

‘We shouldn’t trust him’ Annabel said when he had gone. ‘I don’t trust him…’

‘Farrell?’ Shawn spoke. ‘Are you ok?’

Farrell did not answer him. He just walked away in silence.