Page 4 of The Flame

Winsome’s lips parted slightly and the tear slipped between them.

A moment or so later, the color of Winsome’s skin began to change to more of a flesh color. Her eyes fluttered open and she gasped. In that moment, she drew breath into her lungs for the first time in so long. Winsome’s back arched as her body fought to come back to life.

Rissa smiled and held her daughter’s hand even more tightly. “Come on Winsome, that’s it, come back to us. Your daughter is home again and she needs you. I need you as well. I cannot battle the wolves on my own. Please come back.”

Amira watched as her mother battled to return to them. She could see the struggle she was going through as she whispered to her, “Mama, please fight. Please, please, please.”

Finally, Winsome closed her eyes again and laid very still.

They all waited.

Everyone in the cavern room stood very still.

Amira’s lip trembled with the fear that this had all been for nothing.

Winsome’s eyes opened again and she slowly turned her head to where Amira sat next to her.

“Mama?” Amira whispered faintly.

Winsome smiled. “Is this another dream?” She closed her eyes as if she was praying to herself. “Let it be true...Let it be...”

Amira gripped her mother’s trembling hand. “It is real, Mama!”

Winsome stared at her. “Oh sweet Amira, it was you that woke me up from my forever sleep.” Then she turned and stared at her own mom. “Hello, my wonderful mother, I am back.”

Rissa smiled down at her daughter and said, “I am glad. But come daughter, we have work to do.”

“How long was I asleep?” Winsome asked and turned to her daughter. Now everyone could see shock on her face as she realized Amira had been a baby the last time she saw her. “I missed everything, didn't I? You’re fully grown.”

Amira nodded. “Yes mama, I am. But I wouldn’t say you missed everything. I always knew you were there for me when Milo wasn’t. I could hear your voice talking to me all my life.”

“You heard me?” Winsome asked in shock as she tried to get her bearings. Her body swayed a bit.

Amira nodded as she helped to steady her. “Your voice is what got me through my childhood. Milo may have taken me from you but he never wanted me. He took me to his home and ignored me my whole life. I wasn’t allowed to even look out the windows in case someone noticed me. He boarded over the windows in the rooms I lived in. He didn’t even tell his people I was there.”

Rissa’s rage grew. “I found him a few weeks after he stole her. To save you, I had to put you somewhere safe until we could bring you back.”

The men in the room stepped back from her ire. They could all feel the power she emitted.

Attempting to get a hold of her anger, Rissa spoke softly, “I told him he better take care of his child or the fires of hell would find him. Apparently, I didn’t threaten him enough.”

Winsome looked around at the men in the chamber. She saw Kinsen, Jacks, and Trent. “You are more than just men, aren’t you?”

Kinsen nodded. “Yes, we are. We are werewolves, shifters if you like. We were once part of Milo and Griffen’s pack. About two weeks ago, we were told Milo died in a car accident. Griffen went to Milo’s house and kicked Amira out. We were shocked, as no one else in the pack ever knew she was there. He just kicked her out and she had no protection. We offered to protect her as she had nowhere to go.”

“But I did have a place to go,” Amira told her mother. “The mountain called me home. And we found out that Milo isn’t dead. He tricked us, then he and Griffen followed us here. He still wants the gold. He still thinks he can get it. They tried a showdown but all that got them was wounded. They are still out there though, looking for this mountain. Milo is a desperate man now and desperate men make mistakes.”

“Why is he desperate?” Winsome asked.

“He’s been gambling hard and losing heavily,” Kinsen exclaimed. “And the men he owes money to are not good men. If they know there’s gold in this mountain, they will tear it apart with their bare hands to get it.”

“If they come here, they will know pure hell,” Rissa vowed harshly. “They will find the Maiden will not be violated so easily.”

“We need to call the People,” Winsome told her mother.

Rissa nodded. “We do indeed, but I’m not sure you are strong enough to do it.”

Winsome smiled. “You forget mother, we are three now, not just two.”

---