Son of Thunder - Murray J. D. Leeder [37]
With the roll completed, Thluna turned his eyes to Kellin. "Lastly, there is the matter of Kellin Lyme." His voice was soft, almost apologetic, and Kellin knew what he was going to say. "We must thank her. She delivered to us a lost piece of our heritage, and she helped us in our battle last night, taking the wounds to prove it. And more, she's done what perhaps no outsider ever has-offered her assistance to us not for any personal gain, nor compelled by pressing circumstance, but only because she thought it the right thing to do." Thluna's voice was almost breaking.
"But in conscience I cannot allow her a place with us. We are Thunderbeasts, and it's all the more important-now that our tribe faces so much crisis-that we strive to keep ourselves free from outside influence. So go with our thanks."
Kellin nodded. She understood, but she flushed with anger when she saw a smile cross Keirkrad's lips. Then the hush over the camp was shattered by a loud "No!"
Everyone turned to find the source, and their eyes fell upon Vell at the camp's edge, striding closer. He appeared just as he had before-a young Uthgardt warrior-but his countenance was different. Passed again from man into beast and back, his presence resonated with a new authority-one that awed and terrified the Thunderbeasts. The assembly of barbarians parted as he strode forward toward Thluna, and fear washed over their faces.
"The Thunderbeast chose us both. You need us both." The passionate certainty that flowed in his words as he contradicted the chief was palpable. Kellin felt it as a tingle down her spine. Only Keirkrad dared step forward to confront him.
"Vell," he said, "it is your not your place…"
"Deny Kellin," Vell said, "and you shall not have me either."
"Do we need you?" asked Keirkrad, limping up to Vell.
"The Thunderbeast never decreed for you to come along into the High Forest."
"Nor did the beast ask for you," Vell shot back. Gasps were heard from the Uthgardt at this verbal attack on the shaman.
"Fellow warriors were crushed under your feet last night," said Keirkrad. "Tell me, Vell, are we all to fall victim to the powers you cannot control?"
"I need you all," Thluna spat out quickly. "Vell, Keirkrad, and Kellin. All three and no less. This is my last word, and I will hear nothing more of it." Keirkrad made fists of his trembling hands and frowned at Vell as he walked away.
Soon enough, the center of camp was deserted but for Vell and Kellin. She approached the warrior, fighting to steady her own shaking hands as she did so. Why was she feeling this way? she wondered. She sensed that all of the uncertainty and vulnerability she had seen in Vell before was now gone, and she just didn't know who she was talking to.
"Vell," she said, scanning his brown eyes, which were seemingly harder and deeper than before. "I don't know how I can thank you."
"Why thank me?" he demanded. "Thanks to me, you may die, for a cause you don't believe in and a people who don't want your help. I've helped make that happen." His voice was thick with bitterness.
"I've made my own choices," Kellin said. "Vell, what happened? Do you remember anything… anything from your transformation?"
"Not much. Like a dream mostly forgotten, or a night lost to mead." Vell shook his head. "I don't think I'd like to remember more. I wasn't Vell any longer. I was something else, to whom my life as a man was nothing but a shadow of a memory. I don't even know how I found my way back home."
Kellin reached out and clutched at his hand. He instinctively pulled away, but then let her take it.
"You did the right thing. You fought for your tribe," Kellin said.
"And so shall I again," said Vell. "This is the Thunderbeast's