Chapter 8: The Man My Father Was
I spent my entire life thinking I knew my father.
I was wrong.
The man I remembered was quiet.
Simple.
A farmer who woke before sunrise and worked until his hands were cracked.
A man who fixed things instead of replacing them.
A man who never talked about the past.
But sitting beside Chief Talon, I realized something.
My father was not hiding because he had something to be ashamed of.
He was hiding because he had something to protect.
“What was he?”” I asked.
Chief Talon looked at me.
“He was a friend.””
I shook my head.
“That is not enough.””
“You want a title.””
“Yes.””
He looked back at the valley.
“Your father was a bridge.””
I frowned.
“Between what?””
“Between people who had forgotten how to listen.””
The answer frustrated me.
I wanted facts.
Names.
Events.
Something I could hold onto.
Not another mystery.
“Chief, I need the truth.””
He nodded.
“You deserve it.””
He picked up a small stone from the ground.
“Your grandfather and mine made an agreement. Not written by governments. Not signed by powerful men.””
He turned the stone in his hand.
“An agreement between families.””
“To protect the valley.””
“Yes.””
“And my father continued it?””
“Yes.””
I looked down.
“Why me?””
Chief Talon was silent.
Then he said something I did not expect.
“Because your father believed you were the only person who could finish what he started.””
I almost laughed.
“Me?””
“Yes.””
“I am just a rancher.””
Chief Talon smiled slightly.
“So was your father.””
The words stayed with me.
Before I could answer, Naya approached.
“There is something else.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
She held a small bundle.
Another document.
“This was found with the records.””
I took it.
Inside was a map.
Not of the valley.
Of my ranch.
My eyes moved across the paper.
There were markings beneath the property.
A hidden location.
A place I had never seen.
“What is this?””
Naya looked serious.
“Something your father never finished.””
“What?””
She pointed to the map.
“A second hiding place.””
I stared.
“There is more?””
“Yes.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
Silas had not been searching for one secret.
He had been searching for everything.
Suddenly, a loud horn sounded from the northern ridge.
Everyone stood.
A scout ran toward us.
“Chief!””
Talon turned.
“What happened?””
The scout looked nervous.
“They found the second location.””
My blood ran cold.
“Who?””
The scout hesitated.
Then answered.
“Silas.””
I looked at Naya.
“How?””
She did not answer.
Because she knew.
Someone had told him.
Someone close.
Chief Talon’s expression changed.
Not fear.
Betrayal.
“Impossible.””
The scout lowered his voice.
“Chief…”
“What?””
The young warrior swallowed.
“The person who led Silas there…”
He looked toward me.
“…was one of us.””
The entire camp went silent.
I looked at the hundreds of warriors surrounding my ranch.
One of them had betrayed them.
One of them had betrayed Naya.
And maybe…
One of them had helped Silas find my family’s secret.
Then, from the darkness beyond the barn, a voice spoke.
“You should have listened to your father, Corvin.””
Everyone turned.
A figure stepped from the shadows.
And I recognized him.
Because he had been standing beside Chief Talon all day.
The same man who had delivered the warnings.
The same man who had claimed to protect Naya.
He lowered his hood.
And smiled.
“I was never protecting the secret.””
My hand moved toward my rifle.
May you like
The man continued.
“I was waiting for the right moment to take it.””
