Missy Jane Blog Tour - Part 4: The Wall by Missy Jane [Prequel]

The Wall

            Sandulf surveyed the battlefield before him with vision blurred by sweat and blood. The worst was finally over. Three years had passed as mere moments in time, like most events in his long life. At five-hundred and twenty-seven years he’d seen more than enough death to numb him to the experience. Even when it came by his own hands. Movement from the corner of his eye had him turning to face one of his most trusted wolves. Connor was covered in gore as well, all but his hands. They’d been scrubbed clean, as pristine as the white sheets of paper they held. He looked up at Sandulf as he neared and grinned with amusement.

            “They use one of the most precious resources to call a truce, Alpha. I wonder what the humans would think of your library.”

            Sandulf understood his amusement but didn’t share it. He was bone tired and wanted nothing more than to sign the treaty and stop the blood shed. His wolf had gotten his fill of the hunt within the first year. Sandulf honestly hadn’t expected the humans to take so long in devising a treaty.

            “Have you read it?” he asked.

            Connor was one of the most intelligent men under his command. Sandulf trusted him with his life as well as every aspect of it.

            “Yes, sir. Frederick Jamison drafted it with the full support of the remaining members of Congress. It’s what you expected to happen once they started building the wall.”

            “They wish to keep it? That line gives us the advantage.”

            “Yes, sir. It’s to be expanded to stretch from coast to coast. We get everything to the north and they remain in the south.”

            “Hmm. Texas and California?”

            “Texas is theirs. California ours.”

            Sandulf rubbed his chin with one dirty hand and paced away. All around them shifters began the grim task of checking the dead. With so many bodies, a burn pile was the only way to keep the chance of disease from spreading. They would ensure there were no live ones left before tossing them into the fire.

            With a thought, Sandulf prompted Connor to read the hastily prepared Jamison Treaty. It was amazingly simple and to the point. Nothing like the documents American congressmen were known for writing. It lined out very firm borders but as Connor stated, the shifters had the advantage. Sandulf listened intently to each term and mentally picked at them, searching for flaws or tricks. He trusted very few shifters and no humans after his brother’s death. He turned back to face Connor. 

            “Sounds fairly cut and dry. What is your opinion?”

            Connor shrugged even as he appeared to think it over. “I’ve read it three times now. I see nothing that might come back to bite us in the ass. Perhaps Andor should read it before you sign?”

            Sandulf stilled as he mentally searched for his trusted advisor. The Golden Eagle was soaring low in the sky over a residence set back among the trees. His emotions hit Sandulf like a punch to the gut but the Alpha showed no sign of his distress.

            “No. He isn’t near and is dealing with something personal at the moment. I don’t suppose you have an ink pen?” Connor chuckled and shook his head. Sandulf glanced around at their surroundings then down at his tattered clothes. “Well. Let us show we are animals after all.”

            He lifted his right hand and instantly formed a wolf’s paw, then bent to dip it in a puddle of blood near his feet. Connor held the last page of the treaty out, supporting the underside with his palm as Sandulf stamped his paw print beside the President’s signature. Once that was done, he extended one sharp claw and dipped it in the blood, then added his signature as well.

            “That should leave little doubt as to who signed it,” Connor said.

            Sandulf smiled at the amusement in his voice. “Indeed.”

***

            Andor stood naked in the middle of what used to be his living room. Blood splattered on the walls told of a fierce battle, though he doubted the young residents had put up much of a fight. His house had become an orphanage. He’d convinced himself Emily would be safest here, away from him and the battles he fought in the name of his Alpha. He didn’t know why Lillian had left her or where his selfish ex-wife had gone, but there was little doubt his young daughter was out there somewhere in the world on her own. He glanced again at the hastily scrawled message on the wall near the fireplace.

            “Daddy, where are you?”

            Emily’s scent permeated the brick and mortar. She’d been standing there, searching for him. She was smart enough to know he had hidden passages built into the house, but he’d never shown her how to get to his underground lair. Lillian had forbidden it and like an idiot he’d listened to her.

            “Oh, Emily. Where are you, sweetheart?”

***

            Alexia lifted another brick and fit it into the space in front of her. Sweat dripped into her eyes, but she simply wiped it away and kept going. Her back ached, her shoulders screamed in pain and fatigue had become a constant companion. Stopping was not an option. She had one last row to add before this part of the wall would be ready for the next layer. As soon as her small part in building the barrier that would keep the animals out of her lands was done, she planned to walk the few miles into Georgetown. The new city was only a few months old, but growing by the day. She would make a new life there. It wouldn’t be much, but so long as there was breath in her body it would go to keeping shifters out of human lands.

            A shout from above told her she needed to hurry as the sound of a crane nearing grew louder. Sheets of steel would go over the brick to reinforce the wall. It was a massive undertaking, but with so many humans flocking to this part of the newly formed country security was essential. From what she’d heard, soldiers would walk the length of the wall night and day, ensuring shifters didn’t attempt to cross over. Their leader had signed the treaty in blood and the President had taken it as a threat. The peace was precarious at best and no one really expected it to last. How long would the animals be content to remain separated from their prey? How long before the humans decided they wanted their turn at being predator? 

THEY CALL ME DEATH available in print and e-book from Samhain Publishing:

http://samhainpublishing.com/authors/missy-jane

http://www.theodereikspack.blogspot.com

http://www.msmissyjane.com/shape_shifters

They Call Me Death Prequel consists of Five parts.  The Wall, posted here, is Part Four.

To read all the Parts follow the links:

June 15  Not-Really-Southern Vamp Chick - Part 1: The World
June 16  Paper Cut Reviews -  Part 2: The Calm Before The Storm
June 17  Can’t Find A Bookmark -  Part 3: Alexia's First Battle
June 18  Me=) - Part 4: The Wall
June 19  Maybe Tomorrow?  -  Part : Learning To Live

On June 30th, the entire Prequel can be found in one blog post.
See Missy's website for more information.

The Prequel thus far is fascinating.  I am intrigued by the back story and seeing how it all began.

When you love a novel and the characters you will grasp onto anything.

Here is another picture from Cedric's visit to see me:

(Picture taken by me at Point Panic, Kaka'ako, Oahu, Hawaii.  Diamond Head 

can be seen in back.)

I was going to post a video of the waves we sat and watched that day but it's kind of boring

to see on video and much better in person.