Reborn

Chapter Twenty-Four

After a small break, the group continued on their journey. The men moved even faster than they had that morning. Kane and Warner increased their pace, as if the anxiety of being captured by the kids had transferred to them, but none of the men complained about it. They had trust in their leaders and their abilities.

Despite her worries, Kane didn't seem to care about her small episode and so Renee ended up once again carried on Kane's back. At first she was nervous, convinced he would ask or say something, but after a long time, he still remained silent.

So, even though she was scared and tense, she couldn't help but slowly be rocked asleep by the fast pace. Kane had expected it as she didn't have a healthy body and had just been stimulated mentally. So, he had waited very patiently until she had closed her eyes for a while before he moved closer towards Owen, who was once again carrying Alec.

He smiled easily at the boy when he looked over at him. "Don't worry, she's sleeping now."

Alec watched him for a few moments before nodding. "Sorry. We are a burden."

Kane raised a brow at his words and shook his head. "You're not a burden."

Alec tilted his head and then looked pointedly at Renee being carried on Kane's back. Kane just laughed and half shrugged his shoulders.

"She weighs nothing and is easy to carry. I'm sure Owen feels the same as well, so... not a burden."

Alec looked forward and pursed his lips tightly together, staring at the trees far in the distance for a moment before asking. "Do you know what happened to her earlier?"

"Ahhh." Kane took a deep breath, his own dark eyes also moving forward to watch the scenery in front of them. "Well... we call them visions."

When he didn't hear anything his eyes slid over to glance at the boy, briefly studying the confusion in his eyes, before turning back away. "Has your Shaman ever talked about the Gods?"

Alec blinked several times before he frowned and tried to think back. What did that have to do with Renee?

"He talked about the Gods sometimes. The God of Life brings light to all, while the God of Death is his opposite and brings darkness. Both are one person, but because they have different faces we call them the two Gods. They balance each other, and neither is stronger than the other, though sometimes one may seem so. He talked about the minor Gods a little as well... Theron, Falan, Aidan, and the minor Goddess's Eir, and Therese."

Kane whistled in appreciation. "You paid good attention! So... what is the Goddess Eir known for?"

Alec scrunched his face up as he thought. "Eir was a person from the White-Tailed Deer Tribe a hundred years ago and became a Goddess when she discovered that you could heal certain injuries or illnesses with plants... She is now known as the minor Goddess of Healing. ...Right?"

Kane nodded as one side of his lips rose in a small approving smile. "Right. Theron, the God of hunting. Eir, the Goddess of Healing, Falan, the god of fertility, Therese, the goddess of gathering, and Aidan, the god of fire. They all were once people who lived in tribes, like you and me. They received knowledge and power from the God of Life and Death."

Alec's eyes widened. "From both? But I thought you can only have a blessing from one or the other."

Kane slowly shook his head. "No, they did not. Just as there can be no light without darkness, there can be no life without death. Just as the two Gods share the same body, light and dark, life and death, are intricately linked and cannot be separated. It is true one may receive a blessing from only one side of the Gods... but the truly powerful will receive a blessing from both. They are the ones who can become our minor Gods and Goddesses and lead all the people of the tribes to a brighter future. Through them we gain knowledge, strength, and a longer life."