Unleashed (The Gate Chronicles Book 3)

Chapter 17: A Quest

“Your father is still alive?” Andrew asked after several moments of stunned silence.

“Yes.” Donnovan glared at the table surface. “My people imprisoned him in a sort of eternal limbo. It’s an empty, cold shadow land. The place where banished people are sent.”

“What he do to deserve that?”

“He brought one of our enemies to us. Our tribe was unprepared for the attack that my father had orchestrated, and many of our people died. We fled, but not before we captured my father. Once we were free, our people gathered the last few elders living, and they banished him. I remember watching it. I was only ten at the time.” Donnovan sighed. “That was the year before we came here.”

“And you never forgave him.” Allayra murmured.

Donnovan shrugged. “Would you? He deserted my mother and caused the deaths of several people I cared very much about. I trusted him, and he destroyed me for it.”

“I see… But is there any way that we could talk to him?”

Donnovan nodded. “But the elders of my tribe have to grant permission.”

“Will they grant it if it means the salvation of this place and another’s life?”

“I believe they would. My people are dedicated to peace and harmony. They may seem dark because of their abilities, which you’ve seen manifested in both myself and my mother, but we’re not. The dark of night and the shadows are our friends, our living, but we have always wanted to live peacefully, left to ourselves.” He shrugged. “As long as we’re left alone, we are harmless enough. And we would never turn away someone in need.”

Andrew smiled. “I would love to meet more of your people. They sound like a welcoming group.”

“They were when I was with them. My tribe was one of the last left. Our kind is somewhat endangered due to the hatred of the tribe my father betrayed us to. They are relentless in their pursuit of our people.” Donnovan grimaced. “They think we are a danger to them because we can shift through the shadows and they can’t.”

“Where do your people live now?”

Donnovan cleared his throat. “As you know, we’re able to shift across dimensions. When we were attacked, that was how we escaped. The elders transported the remainder of our tribe to another dimension.”

“Can we reach that dimension?” Andrew asked. “Or is the gap still unbridged by a Gate?”

Donnovan rubbed his temples. “It’s not bridged. The place is a wild one, and the terrain is rough.”

“So you can get there. But can you take anyone else?” Allayra asked.

“I could take one, maybe two other people. And supplies, of course. But who would go? Who can we trust?”

Andrew sighed. “A good question. I’m needed here since you must go, and your brother has to remain in command on East Base for the time being.”

“Kane.” Allayra looked up at them and stopped tracing patterns on the metal table. “Kane could be trusted. We all know how much he cares about Ryder.”

Donnovan nodded. “He would be a good choice. He’ll be able to take care of the equipment if it backfires, and I know I can rely on him. But he doesn’t have much field experience.”

“He got my daughter out at the warehouse.” Andrew smiled. “He may not have much field experience, but he knows how to handle a gun, and he obeys orders well for the most part. He’ll be reliable, and he learns quickly.”