Chapter 16 - His Pain
So he dreamed. Brandon couldn't move. He couldn't hardly breathe. He felt a great agony pounding at the base of his head, but all of this seemed so far away.
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So Brandon dreamed in that far off place just between sleep, unconsciousness, and death.184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuJyh2P4jaP
Because he knew he was dying.
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Even in this foggy state of consciousness his heart whispered to him what his mind couldn't say. He was a goner. How much longer would it take? How long before the release was final? Or how long before he woke up and was forced to live underneath their thumb all over again?
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He didn't know. So he dreamed.
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Strangely enough dreaming was far too comfortable to him.184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvoyH9rHJm8
Brandon actually dreamed often, every few days one would creep up and overtake him. But for him.....it was always the same dream. Always the same things. Always the same people. Always the same outcome. Always the same nightmares.
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But this time, just before the predictable horror started Brandon saw something new.184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXAdNW0WHnJ
Eyes.Bright blue, slit, cat eyes, glaring at him first in anger, then in agony, pain. The eyes burned with condemnation. He had hurt this person. And so he had apologized, but now the eyes still glared, hunting him.184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZkFkidswv
Brandon screamed them away and suddenly. LIGHT.
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Like a slash of fire it broke across his dreams, pulling him down into the nightmare that he had every few days on a tiresome loop. And as sad and crazy as it was this nightmare was the only thing that he had, that was his, that he always had, not matter what. A nightmare in a nightmare was his only calm. His only real comfort.
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And as fucked up as that was Brandon gave into the nightmare. Let it settle. Because he knew he couldn't fight.184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXRSzfzVYUv
The light of the sun, cutting into his eyes, blaring, the wind whipping. Rock all around. And the man standing opposite him.184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0RcjvEHEQ5
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Brandon looked at the man standing before him. He was tall, slim, dressed strangely, and he had a head full of golden hair, almost long enough to reach his elbows. But for all the hair, this was a man, Brandon could tell, not only because he had had many years to analyze the recurring nightmare, but because his face was covered in paints and symbols that outlined his masculine nose, chin and forehead.
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And of all things to see in a dream....this man was holding a very large, very blood covered sword in his large, and blood covered hands.
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"Raise your weapon Brother..." The man said to him. He spoke to no one else, but this as always confused Brandon because he had no siblings. No family. But in this dream, every time he dreamed it this man called him Brother.
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"No Kail..." Brandon felt himself respond in the dream, he felt his lips moving, though he himself wasn't sure he was even forming the words or were they being imposed on him?
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He looked down at his on hand where an equally long blade sat in his smaller emaciated grasp. This blade was also splattered with crimson blood, but Brandon couldn't see any blood on his body anywhere else. He never could when he had this nightmare, leaving him to wonder where the blood came from.
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Among so many other things like; who exactly was Kail? Being one of the bigger ones.
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The man, Kail smiled sadly at his answer.
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And Brandon watched for the thousandth time as this man laughed and closed his eyes like he was in some great pain... And for the thousandth time the drama just cut off. The light blared across his sense like needles to his brain. Everything got thrown up, then down, then it vibrated.184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWokighJpd6
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He felt the pain in his stomach. Spreading out like ice and fire, numbing and stinging all of him. Then there came the fall. He felt like someone was tearing him apart, chopping his soul into pieces and then stomping on every little bloody chunk, until he was nothing.
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Then suddenly he was one again. The man, Kail was gone, the darkness was there, but there was no light, no blood, and no sound.
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Until a little while later the light cut back into his mind and it all began all over again.....
It was nothing new. But the pain....the pain was always fresh for him.
***
Glen struggled to ignore the intruder's screams as she moved along the hall walking away from his room.
Ever since coming to her only a few hours ago, the mortal had been a bloody, emaciated, smelly, and now moaning bunch of agony. Glen had suffered through the first few hours because the mortal had kept his distress contained to a few pathetic drawn out moans and leg twitching, but in the last half hour his moaning had transformed into full throated screams. And try as she might to discover the source of the mortals agony she soon came to realize that this pain was purely mental. Spiritual.
And try as she might to stay dutifully by her patients side as Glen knew all healers should....she just couldn't stomach that. It was too visceral. To familiar.
So feeling exhausted and nauseous, Glen had drawn out some silken scarves and softly if firmly tied the mortal to his sick bed. In hopes of not only minimizing his wound bleeding anymore from his erratic movements, but too keep the clearly disturbed individual from getting up and lashing out in his fever dreams. She feared that the most.
As much as Glen loved her husband she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would rip apart anyone that harmed her weather the blow was passed in sickness or not. And Glen loved him for that. He was not only her husband, but he was also the love of her life. Her Life-mate. His loyalty to her was never questioned, nor hers to him. But Glen also knew that it could be damn irritating if it was misdirected. Which it currently was...on the mortal.
Glen sighed deeply just thinking about it as yet another terrified scream split the silence of her home making her wince and blink back tears. She resisted the urge to turn back. Honestly what could she do for him, but suffer along with the stranger and the hell that plagued his restless mind and broken body? Things that she didn't want to guess at....much less sit around and watch. And Glen knew that remaining there could also make her a target if the mortal started to struggle, or slipped free of his bonds. No it was best to wait until she could do something for the mortal. She would wait for her son to return with the surgical supplies. Until then.....
Another terrified shriek tore the air making her jump then sigh. Glen turned the corner and descended the spiral stair case, letting the warm thick carpet beneath here caress the soles of her feet. As soon as her feet hit the bottom floor she spotted Lander as he rushed over to her.
"What's going on...are you OK?" He hissed at her, his eyes glowing green with concern and suspicion. "Is he awake?" Landers Shifted gaze gave her a quick once over as he spoke. Checking her for injuries.
"I'm fine Lander. " Glen assured her son softly. She touched his shoulder and smiled. Instantly she felt all of the tension in his shoulders lessen. "It's okay...breath. Are you OK?"
Lander in-hailed deeply, then ex-hailed. "No...." He finally breathed after three more deep breath. His eyes still burned, but she could see that he was calmer. "When will the damn thing shut up? I can't....I can't stand this anymore!"
Glen took a deep breath of her own. She could feel the warm energy popping all along her son's skin. His emotions were piqued. Her second son had always been very....sensitive to the thoughts of others. The things that plagued others in the dark of the night, haunted him in the hours of the day. Because he could see it all. Feel what all those around him wanted, wished, hoped and would try to do. The good, the perverted, the evil, the desperate. He could read it all, and all of it affected him. The stronger the thoughts....the worse Lander was inclined to feel or be influenced.
Glen took Landers hand as yet another of the mortals screams ripped apart the halls. Lander winced. "It's OK. Focus on my thoughts. Clam. Come with me. "Glen soothed his as she led him across the parlor and down the left of the front door and down the hall leading towards the Living room. Projecting calm into her mind and her voice she gave him a steady "What do you see? Can you see what's causing him so much pain?"
Glen's sons being gifted the ways that they were was...trying at times. But far from something that was overly shocking in Shifter society as a whole. Strong males and females were often born with innate abilities. That is what they were named Innate abilities that stemmed from the rare mixing of mortal and animal DNA that went on to give birth to the race of Shifters.
Not man, not beast, but something supernatural and powerful. That power manifested itself in every Shifter and Shifter Clan differently, but in the Leopards it was known to give them enhanced speed, balance, and their unusual innate abilities that over the generations had stemmed from, telekinesis to telepathy all the way to brain washing or memory tampering.
Normally the Leopards Clan only had one or two such gifted pups born in every few centuries. Such strong and supernaturally gifted individual would then been placed in competition at puberty to battle for the title of Clan Head but Glen and Mantilo had give life to not only one supernaturally gifted son, but three all in the same decade, and then fate had brought Nate, a wolf, but a highly powerful male into their family. Luckily Walter being the eldest of his fathers sons automatically guaranteed that he would be the next Clan head so neither of her sons felt any rivalry for the "crown".
But ignoring that this many strong and innately gifted Leopards hadn't been in one family for nearly three hundred years, Glen accepted all of their supernatural oddities as they were. And secretly Glen had always been slightly un-surprised by it all.
Glen understood that she was an unusually strong minded and strong bodied female she had born all of her sons with little complication or help. While Mantilo was a well of wisdom, raw power and with enough intelligence to out think, out maneuver and out politic every one of his enemies in the past. So when Glen had become his betrothed shed know that their children would be destine to follow in his footsteps, even if it had turned out that three of those sons would be gifted supernaturally and one of those sons would be a stranger.
So though it was highly unusual for all of her Nate could bind men with his thoughts. Lander could read the thoughts of others, or be dragged down by their emotions. And Walter...was ...well something that no one really understood...yet.
Glen sat her second son down beside her down on the couch beside her and squeezed his hands. "Tell me what you can see in his thoughts. Separate yourself from the emotions, and tell me what you see." Glen gave him a moment, then prompted. "Anything?"
Lander frowned, opening the eyes that he had closed, to look up at her from beneath his eye lashes, his smoky green eyes no longer burning green as he was taken in by his mother's calm and stern direction. "No. There's nothing there"
"No?" Pushed him slightly.
"No!" Lander hissed, dropping her hand and closing the hand that she had smooth back into a tight, white knuckled fist. "I can't....I can't read him! It's like he's a blank sheet." Lander stammered, struggling to explain what he was seeing and feeling to his mother. "There is this wall around his thoughts. I've only know a few people that are one strong enough to create walls in their heads and two consciously aware enough to try and build one. You, Dad, and Walter are only a few of them and there have only been about twelve and all of those were all Shifters, Leopards. He's just a dying mortal, they are supposed to be weak and I can't read him!? He's literally blocking me. "
"But...." Glen began assimilating herself to her sons troubling discoveries. "I've never seen you be affected by someone who's thoughts you can't even touch." she said making a statement and a question to him at the same. She once more captured his fist and instead of trying to un-clench it she simply put her hand on top of his.
"I can't touch his thoughts, but his emotions are sharp enough. I can pick up what he's feeling, but not anything about why or what's causing it. He's absolutely terrified. And it's leaking through his metal wall, like whips. It keeps cracking against my mind." Lander hissed. "It's been nearly an hour. My damn head hurts so bad I can hardly think strait."
Glen sighed. "Come with me..." Let's take a turn about my garden. Maybe some distance will help to muffle some of this mortal's distress. From the both of us."
Lander didn't really respond, he simply took his feet, pulled his mother to his side and they made their way to the south of the mansion. Silence engulfed them both as the mortals screams increased as they walked back into the hall, turned right, and they walked underneath the spiral steps to the long dimly lit hall situated far behind it and to the right. More screams nearly chased them into this hall, before the ceiling and distance muffled the screams...mostly.
"I wonder if he was screaming like that when Ezekiel came across him." Glen asked her son once she managed to wipe out the echoes of the mortals voice in her ears.
"I doubt it. " Lander snorted mirthlessly. His cheeks decidedly pale after being exposed to more of the mortal's screams and undoubtedly his emotions. "If the stranger been that....crazy when they had met in the wood. I don't think Ezekiel would have even went close to him."
"Do you think he's goona wake up from this soon?" Glen asked him anxiously as they took a right and stepped around the next corner, passing low voltage lights that nicely shadowed the different pieces of art paintings and warm brown paints that covered the interior of their entire home. "I had to tie him down."
"Jeez. That guy is seriously fucked up." Lander sighed. "I don't think he's gonna make it through the rest of this night." Lander told her. As they made their way further into the house and away from yet another of the mortals heart wrenching screams.
Glen swatted her son across his arm, but for the first time in his entire life she didn't say anything to condemn his words choice. Because having seen things that Lander couldn't have seen in that room.....on that mortal's body?
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