The snow was falling more heavily as they continued their trek north, and Roland was glad for the thick cloak that Holt had provided. He saw Cade ahead through the falling snow, riding alone. The trip had been a quiet one, and he didn’t want to push in on Cade’s solitude yet. His friend and brother had been through much in the past day, and he had always found peace in his solitude. Roland spotted the lanky form of Zaka moving far ahead through the snow, only glimpsing his movements for a moment before he was gone again. He looked back over his shoulder and saw all three wagons were keeping a good pace as well. He guessed that they would make it back to Pinewood by evening at this pace.

Roland’s eyes returned to Cade, and he figured it was time to talk to his friend. He spurred his horse forward into a trot, and brought his steed alongside Cade’s. Cade glanced over, and a smile quirked the corners of his mouth.

“I was wondering how long it would take you to come talk to me,” Cade said.

“I figured you needed time to clear your head,” Roland replied.

“Thanks. There has not been much time to do that.”

They rode in silence for a few moments. Roland didn’t know how to broach the subject of his father. He knew that was where Cade would ultimately take any conversation, and he didn’t know what he would say. His father knew about Cade’s past, but the question was why had he hidden things?

“I know what you’re thinking,” Cade said, interrupting his thoughts.

“Oh, you can read minds now?”

Cade huffed out a short laugh.

“No. I just know that you are wondering how long it will take me before I start in on Merrick.”

“I supposed you would get there eventually.”

Cade’s face went blank. He turned away and his eyes focused on something in the distance.

“I don’t know how to accept it. Everything he has told me about my past is a lie.”

“You know that ain’t true. Pa must’ve had his reasons.”

“Like what? Mal made it clear that Merrick knows more than he’s told. Why has he kept it from me for my whole life?”

“I don’t know, Cade. Maybe there is something dangerous that he was protecting you from.”

Cade’s head whipped back around to face him, green eyes blazing with anger.

“You mean from being a channeler?! All of my life, I have felt different. I have felt like something was missing, and that I was meant for something more than this simple life. Now I know what it was, and I find out Merrick was hiding it from me, and you expect me to just act like it’s all part of some grand plan of his?”

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Roland felt his own anger starting to rise.

“You think you’re too good for the life that pa gave to you? He gave you a family, a home, a life, and he protected you from whatever is out there, and you think it was because he was trying to hide something from you?”

“He didn’t tell me anything!”

“Maybe there was a reason, you idiot! Look what happened yesterday. Aurora and Mal were trying to tell you somethin’, and you weren’t listenin’. Those things were used to hunt for somethin’, and I bet that it was channelers.”

“They found me anyways.”

“Yeah, and now you know what you’re doin’ without havin’ to rely on some weird magic. Pa did what he did for a reason, and maybe there’s more to it than him.”

Roland watched the anger burn out in Cade’s eyes. His friend had always searched for answers, and now he had more questions than ever before. His head turned away and he looked ahead again.

“What do I do now? How do I deal with… this?” Cade asked after a moment.

“We do what Mal said. We talk to pa about what he knows. After that, we figure it out.”

Cade’s head turned back to Roland.

“We?”

“Yeah. You don’t think I’m gonna let you run off and have all the fun do ya?”

Cade smiled at that, and Roland felt genuine warmth in the expression, but it didn’t last long. Cade’s eyes suddenly snapped to the sky, and then back to the front. Zaka came loping back to them through the snow.

“What is it?” Roland asked.

“I think we are being followed. Zaka sensed something, but I can’t pick it up.”

“Are they close?”

“I don’t know. I just felt something from Zaka. I think we need to pick up the pace. The faster we get home, the better.”

“Right.”

Roland wheeled his horse around and heard Cade let out a sharp whistle. As he rode past the wagons, he told each driver to get the wagons going fast as they could. As the third wagon passed him, he circled his mount back around, and looked to see if he could spot anything suspicious behind them. He saw nothing through the snow, except a few birds circling low over the trees. They were only visible for a moment before they disappeared back into the forest. It was strange to see birds this late in the year, but not uncommon. He shrugged it off and brought his horse in behind the third wagon.

Roland heard movement from behind him, and his hand went immediately to his sword as he turned to look back and to his right. Zaka came out of the forest, and he breathed a sigh of relief. The wolf trotted out onto the road, and followed a distance behind the group. Roland kept an eye on him, watching for any signs of alarm.

He was still amazed at the intelligence of Zaka. Cade and the wolf shared a connection that Roland always assumed was a result of the circumstances that brought them together. The pup bonded with Cade that day, and they had been inseparable since. Now, Roland wondered if it was a part of Cade’s abilities as a channeler. Whatever the reasons, he was glad Zaka was around, even if he gave Cade a hard time about the wolf. He had seen the incredible things Zaka could do over the past few years, and yesterday’s battle with the creatures had been a vicious example of the wolf’s abilities.

Zaka came bounding up the road, and slowed to pace his horse, loping easily. Roland decided it was time to see if he could communicate with him.

“Anything behind us?” he asked the wolf.

Zaka chuffed and shook his head.

“Go on and let Cade know. I’ll keep watch back here.”

Zaka took off around the wagons, and disappeared through the heavy snow. Roland shook his head. Between the flaming weapons and the weird creatures from yesterday, talking to a damn wolf seemed relatively tame. He was glad that home, and perhaps some rest, was not far away.