Recruits (Keeper of the Water Book 2) (42 page)

I kneel in front of young Isabella, whose frail little body shakes like a leaf as she looks around at all the strangers.

“It’s okay, little one,” I say. “We’re not here to hurt you. Do you remember who you are? What your name is?”

The sound of my soothing voice relaxes the small girl, who no longer appears so afraid. Her eyes suddenly narrow and she kicks me in the shin, the first time in years that I don’t see an attack coming.

“Get away from me, peasant.”

Her tiny voice is cute and a few of the women chuckle. But Isabella’s sense of self is stronger than I expected and I’m afraid that means I must take even more extreme measures. I retrieve another scoop of water and tell the little girl to drink. She still glares at me but follows my orders. Another gulp and she’s become a toddler barely able to stand on her feet. When she falls on her butt and cries out, Catherine can no longer stand idly by.

“That’s enough!” yells the former Russian Empress. “If you give her any more, she could become too young to survive outside of her mother’s womb. You can’t risk killing her!”

But when I look into the toddler’s eyes, there’s still something in them that worries me, still a glint of recognition when she stares back at me.

“I’m well aware of the dangers,” I tell Catherine. “But I must make her young enough to wipe away
every
last memory. I’ll take it slow and be careful not too push her too far.”

I put my arms out for the little girl to come to me but she shakes her head, tiny locks of brown hair sweeping in front of her eyes.

“Uh uh,” the toddler says.

When I take a step toward her, she stands up and tries to run away but stumbles again. I scoop her into my arms and gently caress her back, trying to soothe her frightened cries. But the little girl tries to wiggle free. Isabella puts her mouth on my arm and chomps down but only has a few nubs for teeth. Still, they’re sharp enough to draw blood and when I pull my arm away she finally giggles.

Defiant to the end. I can’t even be mad at the little girl but I
do
hold onto her more firmly. I give her only a few drops of water at a time until she’s calm in my arms, a tiny infant who looks no older than a few days. She continues to cry in my arms and the distant sound of wailing animals echoes throughout the jungle. The Keeper – Mother Earth’s most important ambassador – is now completely helpless.

Catherine the Great tries to step forward but my recruits block her. She drops her twin swords and holds up her hands to show that she means nobody harm.

“Give her to me,” Catherine says. “She was my best friend. Let me care for her.”

I can see that she’s genuine in her desire to raise the child but I must shake my head.

“Isabella can’t be kept here. She must be brought far away, where she’ll never remember this life, the water or especially being the Keeper.”

“Then where will she go? We can’t put her into a basket and push her down the river,” Catherine argues.

The Queen Clan’s new leader right. I look down at the baby and swear she glares up at me. I sigh heavily, knowing there’s only one proper solution to our problem.

“I will take her far away from here and raise her as a normal child,” I tell the Amazons.

Catherine looks at me suspiciously and my recruits are clearly in a state of shock, as are many of the other women.

“No, you can’t leave us,” Amelia says, earning several nods of agreement.

“Isabella was right about one thing: I am no longer an Amazon and I must leave,” I say with a heavy heart. “Although my place is no longer here, I still plan to dedicate my life to keeping the water safe. The best way I can do that now is by making certain she never remembers who she really is.”

“But you
hate
her,” Catherine says.

“Regardless of my personal feelings for her, I promise I’ll do everything to keep her safe,” I assure the women, a solemn vow I intend to keep. “As long as her past remains unknown to her, little
Cassie
here can live a normal life. And when she dies of natural causes one day, a new Keeper can be elected.”

“Just because you’ll protect her doesn’t mean you’ll raise her the way she deserves,” Catherine says. “You’ll always resent her for taking the Keeper job from you.”

I look down at the infant, who still cries in my arms. The child might have a clean slate for a new life but I can’t help agreeing with Catherine: I’ll never forgive Isabella for what she did.

“Well I’m the only person she’s got,” I finally say.

A
rustling
nearby in the jungle snaps the Amazons to attention. More than a dozen weapons are suddenly aimed in that direction. Despite my feelings for Isabella, I still find myself holding the baby protectively.

“You’re
not
the only one she’s got,” a familiar voice says.

I’m just as shocked as the other Amazons to see Cleopatra stroll back into our camp. But she’s not alone. Following close behind her is a frightened young woman.

“I found her wandering around the jungle,” the former Keeper says, gesturing to my granddaughter.

My granddaughter looks around our camp in awe, her eyes naturally ending up on the spring of bright blue water. But while the other Amazons appear happy to see our former leader, strangers
aren’t
so kindly welcomed. Aim of the weapons is suddenly shifted in my granddaughter’s direction. Her eyes go even wider and she freezes in place, slowly looking from one warrior woman to the next until her eyes stop on me.

“I’m sorry, I was about to come back for you,” I tell the young woman before addressing the rest of the Amazons. “It’s okay everyone, she means us no harm.”

My recruits and
their
recruits are the first to lower their weapons and most of the women follow. But not surprisingly, some in the Queen Clan aren’t so quick to take my word for it.

“She shouldn’t be here,” Catherine says. “You
know
how we handle outsiders who invade our camp.”

“She’s not invading anything,” I say, beginning to lose my patience. “She’s my granddaughter and she never would’ve been brought here if it wasn’t for Isabella.”

At the mention of Isabella’s name, my granddaughter’s eyes go wide and she sweeps the faces of the women again, undoubtedly searching for her kidnapper.

“Keep that horrible woman away from me,” my granddaughter says, her voice quivering in fear.

“Don’t worry, she won’t be able to hurt you ever again,” I assure her.

Cleopatra steps toward me and reaches for the infant. I hand over baby Isabella, who immediately stops crying once she’s out of my arms.

“I loved her like a daughter for many years,” Cleopatra says, gazing upon the infant’s face. “I fear that my inability to groom her into the Keeper role forced her into such drastic action today. I was afraid something like this might happen so I never wandered too far from camp.”

“Not like Isabella needed much reason to snap,” Harriet says.

Catherine turns toward her greatest enemy, ready to start another argument, but Cleopatra calms the situation without even looking away from the baby.

“I will take Isabella far away from here and be a mother to her,” our former Keeper says. “It is the last act I can do to serve the tribe.”

I look to Catherine and the queens as well as the other women. There are no objections to this decision for Isabella’s future. When I turn back to Cleopatra, she has finally looked up at me.

“I’m just sorry the Keeper situation ended so poorly for you,” she tells me. “You never had a chance to give as much to the Amazons as I know you wanted to.”

I nod; what else
can
I do? But seeing Cleopatra holding the infant – hearing her volunteer to further serve the tribe – inspires me to follow her lead.

“I may not make a good mother to Isabella but I can still make sure she stays safe and doesn’t remember who she is,” I tell the others. “I will drink the water, too, return to my youth as her older sister and protect her from the cruelties of the world.”

Some of the women nod – not surprisingly, the Queen Clan looks hesitant to agree – but I’m surprised when Cleopatra doesn’t look excited about my offer.

“It’s no secret that the two of you never got along very well. I’m worried that putting you in the role of her sister might awaken the natural competitiveness the two of you have always shared, that these feelings might make her more likely to remember us…”

“Then what about as a friend? A fellow classmate? Maybe someone else could raise me but stay close enough to you in case those men ever come looking for her,” I suggest.

“But who could we trust to raise you? Who would be willing to follow Isabella and I no matter where we went?” Cleopatra asks.

“What about the man we saved?” Harriet interjects. “He always wantin’ to help us out with anything.”

Cleopatra shakes her head. “I don’t know how wise it is to trust a man with too much of our information.”

I turn toward the only non-Amazon in camp and point.

“I don’t understand
anything
that’s going on around here,” my granddaughter says. “You’re supposed to be my grandmother but I
knew
both of my grandmothers and you
aren’t
one of them. Do I even have to point out that you and I look the same age? I’ve been kidnapped and threatened and left in the middle of the jungle and then brought here and that’s the most sparkly water I’ve ever seen…”

The young woman’s frantic babbling calms as she stares at the spring but she quickly shakes her head. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on here?”

I look to Cleopatra for guidance but she shrugs her shoulders; apparently this is my decision to make. I don’t know how much I can trust this young woman but she
is
my only remaining family, the only remaining link to a past I never expected to reconnect with. I put my life at great risk to protect her – I gave up being
Keeper
for her – so I expect she’ll do as I ask.

I pull my granddaughter aside and give her an abbreviated version of the mess she landed in the middle of. I explain about the water’s importance, about Isabella’s greed, about how her evil plan required my granddaughter. I even tell her my true identity.

“My grandmother – one of my
other
grandmothers, that is – told me how we were distantly related to Sacajawea,” the young woman whispers in awe. “But I never believed her.”

“I’m very sorry for all the trouble this has brought you,” I tell her. “But I could really use your help – the entire
world
could use your help keeping the water out of Isabella’s hands.”

My granddaughter considers it for a moment but she’s rightly cautious.

“I just want to live a quiet, normal life,” she says. “I don’t know if I want to get involved in any more danger, especially if those men who held me hostage could show up again. And what happens when Isabella grows up and becomes evil again?”

I don’t know what to tell her. All of her concerns are valid, all scenarios I want to avoid by staying near Isabella as she grows up.

“I will raise Cassie to be a good person,” Cleopatra assures my granddaughter. “And if Sacajawea returns to her youth as well, it’s unlikely she will ever recall this past either. Only you and I will share this secret, a small price to pay for the woman who gave up more than you can realize to save your life.”

My granddaughter looks at me and frowns. I feel bad for putting her in such an uncomfortable position but any relative of mine – no matter how distant – should understand the importance of this situation. The young woman in front of me might not be the strongest or bravest but maybe helping us will make her a better person in the long run.

“You will be doing the entire world a great service,” I tell her. “And how many people truly have the chance to do that?”

My granddaughter finally nods in agreement. Before she has a chance to change her mind, I walk toward the water, knowing I’m about to drink enough to possibly erase my memory forever. Despite my concerns, I’m confident this is the best move to protect the tribe, the same tribe that nearly breaks out into another fight before I take a single sip…

“But we need to have a leader until the day a new Keeper is allowed,” argues one of the women in the Queen Clan.

“If Isabella had the chance to choose her replacement, it would’ve been me,” Catherine the Great says.

It doesn’t surprise me how quickly she’s retrieved her twin short swords, which she now brandishes for anyone who dares disagree with her. Not surprisingly, there are plenty of women ready to challenge her and I’m at the top of that list.

“
I
never got to choose my replacement either.
I’m
the last Keeper here who’s capable of selecting someone to lead the tribe during the difficult days ahead,” I say.

Catherine doesn’t look pleased by this but the rest of the women nod in agreement. I slowly scan the faces of the Amazons around me. Some are stronger than others, some have been here longer and some I trust more than others, especially my four recruits. But when my eyes fall upon one Amazon in particular, I know in my soul that I’ve found the woman most likely to keep peace in the turbulent times ahead.