Poppa? Don’t do this. We can win, but you have to hold on.
Ten’s voice in Caden’s head. God, it was good not to be alone right now.
It’s okay. I have to make sure you and Quade are safe. If this is the way it has to be, I’m fine with that. You and A’kosh have to make sure Quade doesn’t go off the deep end. Hold each other close and think fondly of me. If you can do that, then it’s all worth it in the end.
No! Ten cried out. You selfish son of a bitch, this isn’t worth it.
An invisible force grabbed Caden and slowly, inexorably started drawing him out of the tree.
Ten? What… what are you doing?
The tree needs immense energy to survive. It doesn’t matter where it comes from.
A moment later, Caden was on his knees several yards from the tree. The spot he’d once occupied had been filled by his son!
“Ten, don’t do this,” Caden pleaded.
“It’s done, Poppa.” Ten grinned. “For the first time, I can’t see what’s coming. It’s kind of exciting.”
“No, Ten!” A’kosh hurled himself at the tree, slicing into it with claw and tooth. “Ten not do this!”
“Trust me, I’m doing what needs to be done.” He smiled at A’kosh. “Have a little faith in me, okay?”
Tears fell like crystals from A’kosh’s eyes as he put his hands on the tree. “Ten….”
The big demon rose from the ground, a wicked smile on his face. “It doesn’t matter who feeds the tree, only that it lives long enough for me to kill it.”
“That’s never going to happen.”
That voice. God, it washed over Caden, filling him with hope. He twisted toward it to find something… impossible. It was Quade, but not the one Caden knew. His wolf-human-hybrid form was verdant, a deep green not unlike the plants of Caden’s dreams. It jumped high into the air. It was a graceful leap that culminated in an amazing arc before Quade slammed down on top of the demon, smashing it into the ground. Quade bent over and held his brother tight.
“Unhand me, you filthy beast,” the demon snarled, doing its best to fight Quade off. But this Quade wasn’t the one the demon had bested. This new Quade was Caden’s half soul. No matter what the demon did, it wasn’t going to be enough.
Quade snarled as he slashed the demon over and over, the black blood spurting out onto the ground and sizzling the remaining scrubs of vegetation. He fought like a man possessed. When he drove his claws into the demon’s chest, Quade howled his fury to the skies.
“You threatened my family. My home. Now you’re going to find out what a mistake that was.”
The demon struggled, but against whatever it was Quade had become, it was a losing battle. It would die, but so would Ten. Caden reached out with all his senses until he touched the tree. He pleaded with it to turn Ten loose and take him, as they were meant to be together. With a cry, Ten was expelled from the tree, and Caden was wrapped in vines and drawn toward it.
“Now, Dad! It has to be now!” Ten cried out.
Quade rose to his feet and drove his claws into the demon’s face. He dragged him toward the tree, kicking and screaming.
“A thousand lifetimes ago, you killed someone I cared about. You were intent on doing the same thing to the man I love and the son I hold most dear. For what? Power? If that’s what you wanted, all you had to do was ask.”
With those words, Quade thrust the demon’s head into the vortex of the tree. The demon screamed, pleading for its life, but Quade stood emotionless as the swirling energies began to draw the demon in.
“A’kosh, do it!” Quade shouted.
A’kosh leaped forward, his claws driving into the vines that held Caden, slicing through them like so much paper.
“Your turn, Ten.”
Ten stood and held out his arms. Energy cascaded around him as the tree drew the last bit of the shrieking demon into itself.
“Poppa, think about what it is you want more than anything.”
And trusting his son, Caden did just that. His thoughts drifted, intent on undoing the damage that had been done by the demon. Where the grass and plants in the area had burned away, new sprouts bloomed, the colors unlike anything he’d ever seen on Earth. The air, poisoned by the death of A’kosh’s people cleared, with the sky once again becoming a deep russet color. He wasn’t done, though. They’d made a promise to A’kosh, and Caden was going to make sure it was honored. He pushed his powers even farther, as the people shimmered back into existence. There was still one thing that Caden wanted with his whole heart, and that was what he would do next.
“Wait. What are you doing?” Ten cried out. “Poppa, stop. You need to fix everything else. Fix your life.”
“Stupid kid,” Caden mumbled. “You are my life.”
Ten’s features softened, the bits of A’kosh he’d borrowed peeling away like sunburned skin, leaving Ten as Caden loved him. The twelve-year-old-boy who was not yet a man but had incredible powers and insights. The one who’d helped so many others and now needed a little help himself.
The son Caden had always wanted.
Caden sighed as the power continued to fill him. The Tree was an amazing thing. It held all of reality in it, and it was allowing Caden to mold the world the way he wanted. Sure, he could fix things for everyone. He could undo damage caused by millions of years of humankind, but he knew in his heart that the only lasting change would come from people working together. He could make things better for Quade, for Ten, for A’kosh, but….
“It’s time to come home now, my love,” Quade rumbled in Caden’s ear.
But there was more to fix. More he could…. “Quade? I can bring them back.”
“Who?”
“The men from that night. I could bring them back to life. Or I could stop them from dying entirely.” Thoughts were rampant now, all the things he could undo. “I could keep Ten’s parents from dying. I could—”
Quade put a hand on the small of Caden’s back. “No. Ten and I? We appreciate that you care more than you know, but what’s done is done. A’kosh’s people are one thing. They weren’t meant to die. But if you change our history like that, you’re running the risk of altering everything. Remember when you asked why Ten didn’t help people learn their powers? It’s like that. If you change things, then we might never meet. Ten’s family could die the next day, or this time it might be Ten who was killed. Rewriting time is dangerous. There are too many variables at work. Plus, I did the deed, and I live with that guilt every day. I want to think it makes me a better person now. Don’t do this, Caden. Please.”
And that beseeching voice was all it took for Caden to stop drawing on the power. The Tree had done enough by returning life to A’kosh’s world and by giving him and Quade back their son, who now stood in A’kosh’s arms.
“You did good, baby. Now let it go.”
And Caden did. He relegated his link to the tree, which had returned to its vibrant green self, to the back of his mind.
“Quade?” he whispered, stumbling back.
Powerful arms wrapped Caden up and held him close. “I’m here, Caden.”
“How…?” The single word encompassed so many questions.