Without hesitation Ansuya walked up to the couple. William followed her but not too close. Seeing Ansuya dressed like she belonged in a board room out here was enough to make anybody nervous. Seeing her backed up with four other people and two wolves would send most people into a panic.
“Hello?” Ansuya asked casually with just a hint of desperation in her voice. The couple started at the sound of her voice and turned around. The couple’s shocked expression told William that he was right about his assumption. The man immediately stood up and the woman pressed in closer to him as he wrapped a protective arm around her. If we wanted to hurt you, you would have been dead minutes ago, you idiot.
“What can I do for you folks?” The man asked in a rudely hostile voice. You’re not helping yourself at all pal.
Ansuya glanced down at the leash in her hand and Alexiares wined audibly. The woman pulled herself away from the man to kneel indecently close to the wolf. “What a gorgeous dog!” She said petting him.
Aceso growled low in her throat and William without thinking jerked on the leash. Aceso whipped her head around and shot pure hatred at him from her gold eyes. William apologized silently and jerked his head forward in an unintelligible signal that no one could have hoped to understand. Aceso silently showed him her white razor-sharp teeth in a signal that he understood all too well. She was not going to forget or forgive that transgression.
“We were hoping that you could help us.” Ansuya was saying to the guy in front of her. William looked up and saw her drop the leash at her feet and took a step towards him. Her voice lowered as she said, “You want me…you want to help me.”
The woman was still distracted by Alexiares but her attention was now split between him and the alluring woman who was approaching her male companion.
The male relaxed visibly as his face went slack and his arms lost all the tension in them. “You want to give me something…to show how much you want me…want to help me” Ansuya was saying, all the while coming closer and closer to the guy.
William’s eyes were transfixed by the elder’s performance. The guy was stunned and his eyes had glazed over long ago.
Ansuya’s head never moved as she as fully focused on the man in front of her. “You want to give me your car. Please me by offering me your car.” The man numbly reached in his pocket and pulled out his car keys. He gingerly placed them in her outstretched hands.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
The woman on ground stood up from the ground yelling, “Dave! What are you doing!? What are you doing to him!?” She pushed past Ansuya and shook the man. “Dave? Dave!? What’s wrong with you?” She glared at Ansuya. “What did you do to him!?” She was crying now trying to shake Dave out of the tracker induced trance.
Ansuya reached behind her and gave Charles the car keys. Charles and Alexiares and Nicolas moved quickly toward the camp gear filled vehicle.
The girl moved in front of Dave to stand in between him and Ansuya. There were tears streaming down her face as she tried to put on a defiant posture. Her tears brought with them the slight stains of mascara. Either she brought her make up with her on hiking trips or she hadn’t cleaned her face properly the last time she was in front of a mirror. She nearly screamed at Ansuya, “WHO ARE you... you, people…”
Ansuya looked at the woman but said nothing. The emotions on the woman’s face turned silently from anger to tranquil to blissful in moments. While the man stood slack jawed the woman was filled with an inner radiance, she almost looked beautiful.
Ansuya said casually, “I want to thank you both for all that you’ve done.” The man nodded stupidly as the girl beamed up at the superior woman. “If you follow the road you will eventually walk into a town. Follow the signs toward Shasties Park. There you will find your vehicle just as we have taken it.” The couple nodded eagerly. “You will not go to the police, nor will you ask anyone else for help. You will enjoy the trek to your car and you will find nothing but positives about your experiences today.” Ansuya hesitated slightly, was she smiling? “You did meet me today, after all.” The couple smiled gratefully at the powerful woman as she turned toward the car. “Come along, William.”
William nodded looking at the pure ecstasy on the faces of the couple as he turned toward the car. He let go of the leash and Aceso jumped into the car sitting with as much dignity as she could muster in the center of the back seat. William squeezed himself in as tight as he could before closing the door. Aceso glared at him out of the corned of her eye and William tried to silently apologize again. Aceso jerked her head forward not wanting to hear or see any of what he had to say. This is going to be a long trip.
With Charles driving, Alexiares sitting on the center console and Ansuya riding shotgun, Katherine and Nicolas had to scrunch together on the opposite side of Aceso, who wasn’t moving from the center of that back seat. William silently moaned in anguish as he turned himself toward the window and watched the scenery pass beside them as Charles drove carefully down the mountain highway. He was able to see a sign at one point that proclaimed this road to be Everitt Memorial highway. He had no idea who this Everitt guy was but this trip had been memorable so far.
The drive went on silently. There was no speaking only the occasional grunt from Nicolas and Katherine being squished together by a bump in the road. William looked up at the extremely young looking Elder. How can she be sixty two years old? She looked just as young as he was. However, she didn’t carry herself like anybody he knew. Her age and experience were obvious to see in her walk and her stature.