Chapter Twenty-Five

The implications took a moment to sink in. Wyatt's mind raced and he started to voice a question but hesitated; it all seemed so confusing. Finally he managed to ask, "You're telling me that these crystals, the very ones that turned me into a Speck, have also created people who don't die?"

Caddo drew in a deep breath. "We trade with the Outlanders and have for centuries. We get supplies, vital things we need to survive. And they get the crystals. They get life."

Wyatt scrunched up his forehead, not understanding Caddo's reticence. "I don't get it. You talk as though this were a bad thing. No sickness, no growing old, no death. What's wrong about all that?"

Caddo shook his head, in obvious distress. "So you'd think. The people of the North, the Outlanders, they grind the crystals into powder and mix it with liquid. People drink this concoction whenever their budget allows but the very rich drink it every day. They hope the brew will help them find an edge and gain an advantage over their peers. Sure it gives them long life, but it has also transformed them into monsters."

Wyatt looked from Caddo to the others around the table. Bono nodded in agreement. "You've never even realized it Wyatt," he said. "But you've got some first-hand experience with how the crystals change people."

It took Wyatt a moment before he realized the truth. "Boss?" he said, halfway as a question. "Boss came from Chicago to the shop after his pa died."

"You've seen the truth of it," added Bono. "They fight and claw each other seeking to dominate. They've enslaved those less fortunate and have no regard for anyone or anything other than themselves." 

Wyatt shook his head, fully understanding. Most of his life had been lived cowering in fear from such people. "I guess I can see that. Rich people having at each other, each trying to gain the upper hand. It wouldn't take much to see them as monsters."

Caddo drained his cup and set it on the table. "I didn't say I saw them as monsters," he said, reaching for the flask. "Those that drink the powder on a daily basis, they truly are monsters. They drink the crystals for centuries and change. They are no longer human, they become more like the Mandu with each passing year. Their bodies change, they transform as they lose their humanity."

"Boss lived in Chicago, that much is true," added Bono. "But he never had enough money to indulge in excess. He could only afford an occasional crystal. It made him mean and cruel, it gave him life, but he didn't turn."

Wyatt let all that sink in but a nagging thought kept rising to the surface. "What about me? I'm a Speck. Will I change? Will I become like them?"

Hoping for assurance, he was disappointed and afraid when Caddo shook his head and stated in a quiet voice, "I do not know. I don't think anyone knows."

A chill trickled over his skin, one that had little to do with the temperature. A mixture of fear and frustration fill him, slowing churning into anger. It was all so unfair! I just want to be left alone. Let me live my life. Away from zelinx and crystals and abuse and thirst. Leave me alone!

There was no one who could understand. No one who could feel what he felt. He was isolated and needed to reach out to Rison. Her secret always seemed to slip his mind. She too is a Speck! Even if she doesn't want to admit it.

He glanced about the room, wanting to share nothing more than a glance, just a brief moment of understanding. She may not have been exposed to the horrors he had experienced, yet she would certainly realize what lurked on the road ahead.

But she was not there.

"Where is Rison?" he asked, somewhat confused and bewildered.

Caddo sat in the flickering light of the lamp, his head hung low. He drew in a great breath and raised his gaze to focus on Wyatt. "She has her own path to follow. As do you. Be sure you stick to your path and never stray."

Before he could say more, a commotion sounded outside the door. Men shouted and cursed. The door burst inward, admitting a sneering Kemp backed by a dozen men bearing lances and other weapons.

Wyatt cowered away from the Tourinar, the mistreatment and abuse still fresh in his mind.

"Caddo, Chief Trader of the Rama, former Tourinar of the Griff Clan," stated Kemp, sounding imperious and pompous. "You and your cohorts are hereby detained and to be brought forthwith to appear before your Touri. There you will face trial and punishment for crimes against the clan and the Raman people at large."

Caddo glanced at Kemp with an air of intolerance. "How do you know I will face punishment?

This question seemed to infuriate Kemp and a bit of spittle flew from his mouth as he screamed in reply. "Because you're guilty, you traitor!"

Caddo looked puzzled and glanced at the others. "Guilty? I thought you said I was to face trial. Are you so sure of the outcome that you can already foresee there will be punishment? If you already know punishment will be the outcome of these proceedings, why bother with the charade of a trial?

Kemp's eyes bulged out and he looked as though his head were going to explode. He snatched a lance from one of the scouts and lunged toward Caddo with murderous intent but his forward movement halted as if he had run headlong into the wall of the cavern.

"Stop right there," said a small voice. Bryant held a knife, its point disappearing into the folds of Kemp's shirt. Kemp looked down with a peculiar mixture of loathing and pain plastered across his face.

"You will treat the Strintouri with the respect he deserves and nothing less," continued Bryant, with a slight quaver in his voice.

After a moment, Kemp threw his head back and laughed. "Is this what it has come to? Has the almighty Caddo been reduced to hiding behind children for protection?" He turned to the scouts and sneered. "Do you see what becomes of those who ignore the law of the Mandu? The Great Caddo is nothing more than a cowardly old man who has convinced other cowards and fools that he is the Strintouri!"

He snatched the knife from Bryant's hand and shoved the youngster sprawling across the floor.

"Enough." Caddo's voice reverberated through the room as he rose and stood before Kemp. "Those who abuse the small and weak reveal how small and weak they themselves truly are. I will come peacefully Kemp, but these with me are guilty of nothing other than sharing a meal."

"Maybe so. Maybe not." Kemp's gaze ranged over Caddo's companions. "Scouts, bind him and take him."

Wyatt gaped, his eyes wide in fear. Caddo was his protector and only defense. Without him, he would be easy prey for the cruelties and animosities of Kemp, Rusk, and any who hated Specks. Without realizing it, he spoke.

"So? The Speck has a voice after all." Kemp laughed but to Wyatt's ears, there was little humor to be heard. "Keep your yap shut, you disgusting Speck. Your time will come."

They bound Caddo's wrists behind his back; he who was guilty of nothing. They laughed and mocked him; he who only wanted the best for his people. They hit him until he bled in a dozen places; he who would have sacrificed all to save them.

As they hauled him away, Caddo called out to Wyatt. "Remember your path Wyatt. And seek out the Rangers. They will help!"

Rangers? Confusion was heaped on to the fear already well rooted. What are the Rangers?

Kemp took the butt end of the lance and clubbed Caddo in the back of the head. The man who had saved him from Boss went limp in the arms of the scouts. Kemp snarled at those remaining in the room. "I wouldn't get too comfortable. Any of you."

He spun and followed the scouts as they unceremoniously dragged Caddo by his arms across the cavern floor. Wyatt moved to follow until he saw her.

Rison.

She stood at the edge of the light, her shadow melding into the darkness beyond with her hands laced behind her neck and tears streaming down her face. If Wyatt had never before seen a person in pain, the agony he saw in her defined it fully. Her head hung low and she refused to meet his eyes.

"Troubling times are coming." Caddo's words crept unbidden into his thoughts as realization dawned. "There will be betrayal and testing."

Rison! What have you done? How could you?

And all along, Caddo knew it was coming.

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Betrayal!  It always hurts, but much more so when the hand on the knife in your back belongs to a friend.

What do you think will happen to Caddo?  To Wyatt?

Thanks for reading and go ahead and vote if you like what's going on!