Kenai

Chapter Seven - A Mother's Love

"Mum?" I say in disbelief.

"Hi sweetheart," Mum replied, "you all right?"

"I've been better to be honest."

"Well, just give me a minute and you'll be all right."

I watched my mother get closer to Deacon, who turned on the spot to face her. He had his back to the far wall, and I saw Mum smile. She helped Katie to her feet, and the two slowly walked towards Deacon, who was still holding me so tight I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"Let her go Deacon," Mum ordered, "she's not part of this."

"That's where you're wrong," Deacon growled, "she's everything."

"Let her go." Katie said.

I was starting to panic; Deacon's claws were getting sharper and sharper against my neck, and all I could do was stare at Mum's face. I saw the fear in her eyes and wanted to reach out to her, but Deacon's grip was too strong.

"She's Un-Blooded." Deacon said.

"Yes." Mum replied.

"Then let's fix that."

Before either of them could move, Deacon grabbed my right hand, gripping my broken wrist so tight that I thought I was gonna vomit, and he dragged a claw across my palm. Blood dripped out of my hand and onto the floor, and he slammed my hand against the far wall.

---

The seconds that passed felt like an eternity. The bloody handprint disappeared, replaced instead by an intricate gold pattern that climbed across the wall. I felt an ear-splitting pain burst into my brain and I screamed. Deacon dropped me and I started to convulse on the floor. I heard Mum and Katie scream, I heard Deacon laughing, but I couldn't move. I was paralysed by the pain and could only stare at the wall as the pain took hold.

My muscles felt like they were melting. Every cell in my body was on fire and I wanted to scream, but no sound came. I closed my eyes, and images flashed across my closed eyes. I saw historical figures, Hitler, Queen Victoria, Stalin, Freddie Mercury, all with animalistic appearances. I saw every vision I'd ever had growing up playing like a broken film reel until it burned out, leaving me with darkness. A voice cut through the darkness, loud but unseen. It sounded so familiar, so near yet so far.

"What you see cannot be unseen," it said, "what you know cannot be unknown. You are one of us now. You have been Blooded. You are Kenai."

I opened my eyes and sat up. I looked down at my body, and realised that I was so much more in shape than before. My muscles were toned to almost perfection, and my injuries were gone. I rolled my previously broken wrist, and smiled to myself when there was no pain. I stood up and looked into the centre of the Hall for Mum.

She and Katie were almost overwhelmed by the Varaat reinforcements. When had they arrived? I walked towards them, and immediately the first Wesen charged at me. It was a hyena-like creature. A Hundjäger. Wait, how did I know that? It didn't matter, I was still gonna take it down.

I moved like I never have before. The Hundjäger came at me, fangs and claws bared, and I punched it in the stomach, sending it flying backwards just as Deacon had done to me. All I had to do was look at the other Wesen, at least a dozen Hundjäger, and they retreated, forming a circle around the three of us. I rushed to Mum and Katie, and they both looked concerned at the sight of me.

"How do you feel?" Mum asked.

"Honestly? I've never felt better." I reply.

"That was a quick recovery, Leela." Katie warned.

"I know, that means she's the one the prophecy talks about."

"What prophecy?" I ask.

Mum put her hand on my shoulder. "I'll explain everything after we deal with Deacon."

I nodded, and as if on queue Deacon entered the ring. He was still in Wesen form, fully Woged. Again there was a word I didn't know until now. What the hell had that wall done to me?

Deacon bared his fangs, trying to be threatening, and he lunged forward. He struck Katie first, slashing at her legs and knocking her down. Blood poured from a long cut on her thigh, but she wouldn't let me help her.

"Kill him!" She yelled, "I'm fine!"

I stood by Mum's side, and for the first time in over a month we were on the same page. We moved as one, fighting as though we'd been fighting together for years. We knocked Deacon back onto the stairs, and Mum delivered the final punch. He crumpled, landing head first on the stone steps and staying down.

---

The remaining Varaat scattered, and Deacon stayed down. Between us, Mum and I helped Katie sit on the steps and Mum examined her leg. The wound wasn't deep, though it would definitely scar. Katie gritted her teeth as Mum pulled a bandage from her pocket and wrapped it around the wound.

"You have no idea how happy I am that you came." Katie said.

"Well, you did kidnap my daughter." Mum replied.

"It's good to see you Mum." I said.

Mum finished with Katie and turned to me. She had blood on her face, though I knew it wasn't hers. She took my right hand in hers, and showed me a thin scar on her own palm. It looked like a papercut compared to the jagged line across mine.

"Most Kenai take hours to recover from their Blooding," She said, "some have been known to take days."

"What happened to me?" I ask, "I feel so much stronger, and I know things I didn't know before."

Mum sat on the steps, and invited me to sit beside her. I sat down, and she began to talk in a voice that I had only heard once before.

"When this place was attacked," She said, "I was one of only two survivors. The other was your father. We stayed together, got married when we were old enough and had you a year later. We didn't want you exposed to the Wesen world; we wanted to protect you. So when you developed the Sight at age six, far earlier than any other Kenai ever did, your father left to meet with an old friend of ours to discuss moving you into hiding abroad."

"That was the day he died, wasn't it?" I ask.

Mum nodded, wiping her tears away before they could fall.

"These words in my head," I ask after a long pause, "what are they?"

Mum said nothing for a moment. She stood up and walked towards the far wall, and I followed her. She touched the glowing pattern, lost in thought for a moment. Then she turned to me and grabbed my shoulders urgently.

"You are the key to stopping the end of the world," She said, "only you can stop them. Only you can destroy it."

She stared intensely into my eyes for a few seconds, scanning every detail as though she would never see me again, and then she pulled me into the tightest hug I've ever felt. I leaned into the embrace, and felt Mum's body spasm violently. A sharp point poked my chest and I felt Mum's body fall. Katie was screaming but I couldn't hear her; all I could hear was my own blood pounding in my ears as I held Mum's body.

I knelt on the stone, one hand holding her head up and the other tightly locked in hers. Tears dripped from my face onto her shirt, and the colour was slowly dropping from her face. I was shaking, and I looked up at the steps where Deacon had fallen. He was gone, as was Mum's crossbow.

"Mum," I said, "please stay with me."

"Kayla-" She said weakly,

"No, don't speak, we'll get you to a doctor, we'll save you just please stay with me."

"I'm sorry." Her voice was getting weaker by the second.

"No, don't say that, you did nothing wrong."

"You have to stop him."

"Stop who?"

She coughed, and with a final rattling breath said one word.

"Zerstörer."