War council

I sit in the council room surrounded by my war council and the other tribe's leaders. This Meeting is not going as planned. There's arguing between Kai, my father, and Zoe.  Dunn and the Rector are trying to calm things down. The surrounding soldiers are on high alert. Guii’s in the corner talking in hushed tones with one of his men. Mera at the other end of the table, watching everything with a look of irritation. I ignore it all. The background is nothing but noise. I stare down at the note in my hand, thinking of how close I’ve been to my enemy. If it was an assassin, I could have been dead.

“He should use his powers,” I hear one person say.

 “If he does that, it will nearly kill him,” another say

“What we need to do  is mobilize, join forces, bring the fight to Kurron,”

“Kane needs to decide for himself, he is the Chieftain of this tribe,”  

“Kane, Kane,” I hear my name being called, but it’s hard for me to come out of the fog I’m lost in.  

“Kane!” I slowly lift my head and come face to face with the most striking pair of eyes I have ever seen.

 Mera sits on the opposite side of the table, staring a hole through me. I can feel her eyes on me like a touch or a soft caress. As soon as my eyes make contact with hers she looks away. The absence of her silver eyes leave me cold. 

“What do you think, Kane?,” Dunn asks. looking at me expectantly.

 “Huh?” I replied. 

I haven’t really been paying attention; I crumble the note in my hand  and look around the room, everyone's, staring looking to me for answers. But the truth is, I’m just as lost as they are. 

“ugh maybe we could send a message to Kurron tell him we want to meet, see if he’s willing to negotiate,” I barely get the words out before Kai is rolling his eyes. 

“That’s a terrible idea,” my father pointed out. 

with his nose turned up 

“It’s not a terrible idea, just not the right one for our current situation,” Dunn explained 

I nodded my head in agreement,  so did Guii

“It’s time for action,” Kai exclaimed. banging a fist on the table. The table wobbled and threatened to cave in.

“We need you to use your powers little brother, we need to see what Kurron is up to,” he clasps my shoulder squeezing it tightly, his nails digging in. when he pulled his hand away, it was surprising to see that there was no blood.

Dunn got down on one knee in front of me and said,

“You don’t have to do this, we can find another way” 

I looked down at Dunn, his eyes pleaded with me, I sighed heavily and placed my hand on his shoulder and stood 

“I must,” I declared.

I searched the room, eyes scanning everyone around me,

wondering if the traitor in this very room. 

  

“We mustn't delay, what do you need from me and my people?” Guii asked, stepping forward, he stood in front of me, hands on his hips, belly out.

“Whatever it is, We are at your disposal,” Guii offered. Reaching out his hand for me to shake. I placed his hand and mine, looking into his eyes. The look that stared back at me was pure determination. It made me happy that we were on the same side.

I turned to Zoe, his face flushed his eyes darted from here to there not resting on a single thing, he’s nervous. 

“What about you, Zoe, can I count on you?,”  I asked.

“I will have no part in this war, this has nothing to do with Yumi,” Zoe sputtered.

“Father we must,” Mera interrupted. 

“Rule 1 of being a dutiful leader, daughter, is knowing when to say no,” Zoe spat.

I watched her shoulders slump, a muscle in her jaw twitch, I tried to

make eye contact with her but she walked off into the corner of the

room to stare out of the window as if all of her answers were out there. 

“You're pathetic,” Kai stabs his finger in Zoe’s direction, walking towards Zoe with his teeth bared and a wild gleam in his eyes 

I stepped in front of Kai, placed my hand on his chest,

“He’s not worth it,” I whisper low so only he could hear.

“We will stay for the festivities, nothing more,” Zoe said, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Stay or go, I do not care,” Kai hissed. 

“But Know this when Kurron sets his sights on Yumi, know that Sung will remember who are friends were in our time of need,”

Kai stormed off towards our father, who clasped his shoulder and gave a curt nod. The atmosphere in the room turned cold. I felt the anger coming off Kai in waves.  

“I have to prepare, I would like you all to meet me in the

gallery in twenty minutes,” I declared, hoping that sometime apart would calm this group down. 

As everyone walked out the door, I stood there waiting to speak to her. She was the last person to walk to the door.

“Mera,” I called. She walked towards me. I couldn't help but stare. She wore a leather kilt that stopped two inches above her knee that showed her shapely legs. I wanted to reach out and touch her beautiful skin and trace a finger along her exposed tattoos. It took all my willpower to keep my hands at my side.

“Yes,” she whispered. Looking up at me through thick lashes 

“I just wanted to make sure you were all right,” I confessed, 

“You were in the corner brooding for most of the meeting, I thought, maybe there’s something on your mind. Something I could help you with?”

She opened her mouth to say something but closed it immediately. She looked torn and confused.

“Whatever you have to say, will stay between me and you,” I encouraged. Mera turned her back on me and hugged her arms around herself. I thought she would leave, but then she spoke.

“My father was a brilliant tactician in his day,” she whispers.

“I don't understand how he could not see that our help is needed now,”. her eyes glistened as she talked. 

“Maybe you can convince him to see reason,” I voiced 

“I Tried, my father is stuck in his ways. He thinks if he doesn’t get involved that Kurron will pass us by, I tried to tell him how foolish that is but, My father knows best,” she exclaimed. 

“I believe Zoe will come around,”. I say stepping in her line of vision. When her eyes landed on me. My powers flared. I felt the burning under my skin, wanting to burst forth and scorch Mera’s skin. So I took a deep breath to calm myself. I watched Mera’s hand rise and fall twice as if she wanted to touch me.

“Are you alright,” Mera asked.  Fear laced in her voice, she trembled as she reached out a hand to touch me.

“Don’t touch me,”  I  hiss through clenched teeth. She withdrew her hand faster than a cobra’s strike 

“My, my, power is surging, step back,” I  warn

Mera reaches out, touching my face. I pull back 

“You'll get burned,” I pleaded. I didn’t want to be the thing that hurt her.

“I can decide for myself,” Mera pointed out. 

Her touch had a cooling effect to it. The more she stroked my face, the calmer my powers became her skin on mine lulled them.  

“That's the first time that has happened,” I groaned as Mera helped me to the floor, the whole ordeal had took a lot of energy out of me. 

“I never gotten my powers under control so fast, I'm usually passed out by now,” I chuckle weakly.

“Are you sure that you’ll be able to perform in the gallery for your brother, your powers seem very unstable?” She says watching me closely with a raised eyebrow.

“I’ll manage,” I said while trying to sit up.

Mera pushed me back down. 

“Then you’ll get yourself killed,” She wailed.

“Why do you care so much,” I ask. Looking at the concern in her eyes, hoping for a different answer than the one I got. 

“I don’t,” Mera lied.

“I don’t believe you,” I countered.

“Believe what you want,” she retorted and stood to leave.

 “You're just going to leave me here on the freezing floor,” I asked.

Mera looked at the door, then back at me. She let go a huff and said. 

“This does not mean I care about you,” she huffed while placing my arm around her shoulder, pulling me to stand. I  leaned heavily on her. We make our way down the corridor towards the gallery in silence. I glance at her out of the corner of my eye as we walk.

“What?” Mera asked 

“Nothing,” I say, turning my head away.  I feel her eyes on me.

I turn to come face to face with her beautiful eyes and swallow hard.

“Your nothing like I expected,” she says breathlessly 

“What did you expect,” I whispered, my face coming dangerously close to hers.

“An arrogant, self important, jerk,” she says. 

As she speaks I feel her warm breath tickle my lips and I want to close the distance between us.

“So like my brother?” I chuckle.

The smile she gives in return shatters me, but the look in her eyes puts me back together. I leaned in. Her eyes go from my lips to my eyes, back down to my lips. I can see the indecision on her face as she nibbles her bottom lip. I fixate on that bottom lip as I tighten my hold around her shoulders,  pulling her closer. As close as one can be without being on top of each other.

“Um hm,” someone cleared their throat. I turned around to see Kai staring at us, with a raised eyebrow and a wicked grin. Mera eyes widened and she let go of me as if I had burnt her. My legs wobbled and threatened to give out. Kai was there in an instant pulling me up on his shoulder.

“What happened,” Kai demanded looking over at Mera, If looks could kill, we’ll be pulling her body out of the Red River 

“It’s not her fault, I lost control,”  I stammered. 

Kai pulled me along and Mera followed as we walked through the gallery doors. Everyone was already here, standing around. I watched as Mera walked over to stand by her father as she avoided his eyes. And looked at me. I gave her a weak smile and trudged on with Kai. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something felt wrong. I ignored the feeling and stood in front of the stone altar.

This stone helps me connect to Sung’s power, the raw power of the tree. I'm powerful without it, but with the stone, I am a god. I remove my robes and lay down on the altar. The stone is cold against my bare skin, I can feel the power underneath. It whispers for me to connect to it. I give one last look to Mera, who’s biting her bottom lip again while staring into my soul. I

wish there was a way I could tell her I’ll be ok, but there isn’t. 

So I close my eyes and connect to Sung.