chapter8

I woke up with the sunlight on my eyelids and something warm against me. 'Will?' I thought in confusion. 'So it wasn't a dream. Holy apple pie.' My friend moved slightly and I looked down. 'Jesus, we ARE here, doing what Grandfather told us. Which means that I can't go home.' Sliding out of bed lightly, I pad to the bathroom and splashed cool water on my face. 'It's strange. I've always wanted to get to know him better even before we got here and now I'm going to have to depend on him for life and limb...literally. Life can NOT get much stranger.' I closed my eyes briefly before opening them and sighing. 'Like I can do anything about it. Come on Tasha, dwelling on stuff isn't you're thing. Get over it and do what you're supposed to do...whatever that is.'

Walking carefully back to me and Will's room, I find him still asleep a small smile playing on his face.      'But still, things can get worse.' I grab a pair of jeans and a band t-shirt and pull on my sneakers before holding the braid that my companion had done the night before. 'Yep, things could get a lot worse,' I smile before walking out of our room and into the main room. A low melodious voice floated out from the kitchen, one from my childhood and I smiled. "Grandfather?" I call out and I hear him laugh. "In here, my child," he replied and I found him, cooking breakfast; eggs and pancakes with something that looked like orange juice.

"I trust you slept well," Grandfather said, smiling in that knowing way he had. I pulled out a chair from under the table and curled my legs under me before smiling back. "Yes, very," I replied, frowning in thought. 'Should I ask him what Will and I are? Or will he tell us? Or am I even supposed to know?'

"You have something on your mind, pup," Grandfather said, turning off the stove and sitting next to me. I smiled a little. "You haven't called me that since I could barely reach your waist..."

My elder placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled in return, if not a little sadder. "Yes and now you are a young woman," he said easily. "Ready for marriage if you lived with a clan."

"But I'm not ready for-"

"Oh I mean only IF you were in a clan. The whole 'marry when you barely know what those things down there are for' always made me kinda uneasy. But you are worried about William."

Sighing, I curse my Grandfather's empathetic sense. 'He always knew when you were preoccupied.'       "Yes," I say simply. "He is my friend."

"But you want him to be more than that, hm?" he replied, laughing softly. "Don't try to hide anything from me, pup. I knew from the moment I saw your eyes meet. You care about him more than you want to admit."

"More than I can admit...Grandfather, are all WolfAngels...together?" I ask hesitantly and Grandfather arched an eyebrow. "You mean were they mated? Of course...one couple did, however escape that fate."

I felt a surge of hope in me. 'Maybe I didn't have to tell him...'

"But they were killed before they could tell one another, so..."

'Damn.'

Sighing, I look at the ceiling. "Why me?" I say almost absent-mindedly and Grandfather got up to fix our plates. "Because you are the chosen one. Chosen before you were even conceived in your mother's womb, bastard birth or not, if you'll pardon the term. Just as William was. And good morning to him."

I sit up and I see Will in his dragon khakis and his band t-shirt as well, hair loosely pulled back and standing in the doorway. "Morning, Sleeping Panther. What smells so great in here?" he asked, sitting next to me and looking at the stove. Blinking, I look at the both of them, wondering if Will had heard my conversation but my Grandfather smiled at me in the small way he had, letting me know that Will was no where in sight until he had said something. 'Thank Gods...'

"Pancakes, eggs, and orange juice," my new guardian said, placing the plate and glass in front of us. "Eat well, children. You shall need it today."

"What for?" I ask, swallowing some pancake.

Grandfather cleaned his hands and tilted his head out of the window. "Because today you find out where you came from. Ketria!" Will and I looked at each other to ask 'who's Ketria?' before the white falcon soared through the window and landed on my elder's arm. "This is Ketria, overseer to the skies of Nivta, next to the dragons of course. She will be leading you to WolfAngel cave," he explained stroking the crest of the bird as he talked, her sky-blue eyes trained on us both.

"Why can't you lead us?" Will asked finishing off his plate, managing to eat while all of this was going on.

"I mean, a bird? Not to be mean, of course but still..."

Ketria hissed and Grandfather laughed. "She is more than capable of handling you two. After all, she is quite smart."

"I can tell," I laugh, poking Will who just made a face at me. "But what's so special about WolfAngel cave? I thought you told us everything last night?"

Grandfather looked as us seriously. "I didn't tell you everything..."