Blood Solstice: Part Three in the Tale of Lunarmorte (23 page)

He
grinned back at her. “Finally, I have news.”

“
Well?” Saffron snapped impatiently.

The
Prophet’s grin grew wider. “Looks like the apocalypse is coming
children. The gods will take away the trace if Caia succeeds in
becoming the Head of both covens.”

Relief
swept through her like a huge tidal wave, and for the first time in
weeks she felt as alive as a surfer crashing under it.

“
Ahhhh haa haaaa!” Caia jumped up happily and threw her arms
impulsively around the old guy. He hugged her back tight, laughing
at her excitement. After a moment he drew back from her, his
expression suddenly completely serious.

“
Now all you have to do is convince the Daylights of your plan
and start your witch hunt for Marita.”

She was
sobered by the thought. In order to do this, to free them all from
the trace, she was still going to have to kill someone. So, OK, it
was the evil bitch that had murdered members of her pack, tortured
innocent children and inevitably caused the death of her mentor,
Marion. Hmm, when she thought about it like that, maybe taking her
out wouldn’t be so difficult after all.

“
The hard part is explaining all this to the Council.” Saffron
sighed.

Reuben
shook his head. “Not necessarily. Vanne will believe
us.”

“
Maybe.” Nikolai nodded. “But if you don’t mind, for now I’ll
stay here. I don’t want to be imprisoned just for being of Midnight
blood.”

“
Fair enough.” Reuben patted him on the shoulder. He looked up
at the Prophet. “Thank you. Again.”

The
Prophet smiled. “It’s always a pleasure, Kirios.”

And then
he was gone.

Caia
stared at the spot he had been standing in for a moment before
spinning around to face the weird trio that had become her only
trustworthy companions of late (which wasn’t saying much). “OK. So…
the Centre it is then.”

Reuben
nodded in agreement. He didn’t smile but there was a new light in
his dark eyes. “The Centre it is.”

19 –
Blood Oath

The
atmosphere at the Centre was different than before. There had
always been this tension, this sense of everyone being wound
extremely tight, but also this sense of security, of feeling
powerful and protected all at the same time. While there was no
longer that stressful tension, it had unfortunately been replaced
by a heightened sense of expectation, and the worst of it was, it
was kind of like that butterfly in your belly feeling you had when
you weren’t quite sure of a situation. Moreover, Caia discerned a
new uneasiness amongst the Centre’s inhabitants; a paranoid
awareness of one’s own surroundings, as if awaiting imminent
attack.

Reuben
had called Vanne, and after having explained what Caia needed to
discuss, Vanne had granted them entry to the Centre. Caia hadn’t
been expecting a reception, but on the other side of the portal
stood Vanne, Alfred Doukas and Penelope Argyros, and they were
surrounded by other magiks acting as bodyguards. The Centre was
electrified with the news of Caia’s return and she could feel the
stares heating the back of her neck as she was taken through
corridors she had never walked before. Disappearing behind the
group were the cold magnolia walls and tough tiled-flooring she had
thought made up most of the Centre’s décor, and appearing before
them were plush carpeted corridors and mahogany panelled
walls.

Finally, they came to what looked like a waiting room, with
eight feet tall grand double doors beyond it. Caia drew to a stop
apprehensively. Something didn’t seem right. No one had spoken
since they were greeted at the portal, and… what
was
this
place?

Penelope
spun around in her little kitten heels smiling gently at Caia, and
she felt a little better. It seemed Alfred and Penelope genuinely
liked her, so maybe convincing the Council wouldn’t be so difficult
after all.

“
Caia.” Penelope nodded to the waiting room. “If you would
like to take a seat while Saffron and Reuben follow me. We’ll be
back for you in a few minutes.”

Caia
looked to Reuben and she noted the look of realisation on his face
as he shared a glance with Saffron. They both knew what was
happening. Why the hell didn’t she?

“
What’s going on?” she asked warily.

“
You’ll understand in a moment,” Alfred assured
her.

Saffron
scowled at him. “Mr Doukas, can you not tell her? It could come as
a shock.”

What could come as a shock? Holy Artemis, what on Gaia’s
green earth was going on here?!
Do not
hyperventilate.
“Yeah.” She bobbed her
head in agreement. “Tell me.”

Doukas
shook his head after throwing Saffron a reproving look. “It’s not
the way it’s done, Caia. I’m afraid you’ll just have to wait. Mr…
Reuben, Saffron… please follow us.”

It was
only then that Caia noticed the insignificant-looking side door on
the adjacent wall to the double doors. Just as they were all about
to disappear through it (and no, she couldn’t get a look beyond
them to see what the Hades was on the other side) she threw up a
hand. “Uh, Saffron, tell them about the Krôls.”

The
faerie nodded and bent to speak with Penelope as they disappeared
through the door; Caia gathered she was imparting the pivotal
information.

It felt
like forever, sitting there, waiting, gradually growing so anxious
she was sure she was going to upchuck all over the waiting room
floor. Nothing had ever seemed to take as long as this wait
did.

Jeez, even The Machinist was faster than this and that was one
slow movie.

She
snorted and then realised that she’d laughed at her own thought.
Dear goddess, she was actually being driven mad by the wait. Her
eyes bored into the double doors, wishing (for not the first time)
if she was going to have superpowers why it couldn’t include x-ray
vision. Seriously what was going on behind those damn doors and why
was it so darned quiet out here?

Her heart
jolted at a loud creaking noise and her eyes widened as the double
doors slowly opened out towards her. She stood on trembling legs
and gaped as a tall young magik she recognised as a member of the
Council stared at her pensively. His name was Derren. He was the
magik who had gone undercover to discover the labs.

“
Caia Ribeiro,” his voice echoed and resonated behind and
beyond him. “Please enter the Court of the Council.”

The what of the what now?!

There was
no time to ask, he was already spinning on his heel. Caia hurried
to follow him, only seeing a high, dark wooden wall carved with
images of warfare. As she drew past the doors, however, her heart
nearly exploded in her chest. At either side were stairs leading up
into a room with the highest ceiling she had ever seen, a ceiling
so grand it could have been painted by Michelangelo himself. But
the heart thudding had more to do with the faces she could see
peering down at her from up above the stairs. Derren waited at the
top of the set to her left. Tentatively, Caia began climbing them
and as she climbed she began to see over the carved wooden wall.
The stairs led up to a massive circular room. In the centre of the
room was a circular platform and around the platform were rows of
benches that rose away from the floor at a semi-steep gradient. All
the rows were filled with inquisitive Daylights peering at her in a
mixture of anxiety and excitement. At the furthest end of the hall
in the front row benches, sat the Council, waiting expectantly.
Reuben and Saffron were seated with them beside Vanne.

“
Follow me,” Derren demanded and Caia crossed the platform,
surprised that her legs didn’t buckle beneath her. The hush that
filled the hall was nerve crippling, all eyes burning into her. Was
the entire Centre here? She felt her cheeks heat up under their
watchful eyes. The funny thing was she thought she might able to
cope with it better in wolf form.

Instead
she straightened her spine and followed Derren until he stopped her
smack bang in the centre of the room.

Am I on trial or something?

She
really wanted to ask but was frightened of messing up this ceremony
or whatever it was.

Once
Derren was seated with the others, an elegant man stood up. Caia
recognised him as the guy who hadn’t seemed to like her much when
she’d first met with the Council to tell them about the underground
labs Marita had created. Well, he should be fun. Like Derren his
voice boomed around the entire court.

“
Caia Ribeiro, allow me to introduce myself.” His dark stare
wasn’t at all friendly. “I am Benedict De Jong a member of the
Council. We have just spent the last thirty minutes-

Thirty minutes? That was all?

-listening to a young man, with no affiliation to the Centre,
tell us of your plan to kill Marita, and ask us to make you Head of
the Daylight Coven in order to gain a control of both Midnight and
Daylight trace, all with the intent to perform a rite soliciting
the aid of the gods to remove the trace from the supernatural
world, thus freeing its inhabitants.”

It
sounded really cool when he said it.

“
Is this or is this not true?”

Caia
nodded. “Yes, sir, it is.” She almost flinched when she realised
her voice was just as loud. There must have been a speaker spell of
some kind on the room so their voices carried.

A
rumbling of murmurings followed this, before De Jong gestured for
them to be quiet.

“
Such a request would have been completely dismissed if not
for the support given by not only Saffron, one of our most trusted
and experienced shapeshifters, but also Vanne, who has helped lead
this Coven in war for decades. These are supernaturals who have
sacrificed many things for the cause, and now they are risking
their good name for you. Why? Why should we believe you, a girl of
Midnight blood, a girl who has been thrown out of her own pack, who
has aided and abetted the escape of a young female Midnight
imprisoned at this Centre, who trusts the words of a Midnight
Prophet, and who hides out in the home of the former Regent of the
Midnight Coven?”

Caia had
to stop her mouth from dropping open. She glanced up at Reuben who
gave a barely perceptible shrug. The son-of-a-bitch had told them
everything and hadn’t even had the decency to warn her first. She
stiffened and met De Jong’s gaze. He was making it sound like she
was a traitor or something.

“
If Reuben has revealed all of this to you then he must have
explained the circumstances.”

“
Yes.” Benedict smirked. “Nikolai Petrovsky is a double agent;
the Prophet is neither Midnight or Daylight at heart, and Laila
is-”

“
The purest soul I’ve ever met,” Caia interrupted, squaring
her shoulders and blasting him with a ferocious look.

Gasps
echoed around the room.

Benedict
curled his lip into a sneer. “A Midnight… pure? Please do not tell
me you still believe this nonsense that there are ‘good’
Midnights.”

She wanted to punch the arrogant bastard. She curled her lip
right back at him. “It isn’t nonsense. There
are
good Midnights. Many of
them.”

More
gasps. Great.

The
warlock glared at her. “I rather doubt it.”

“
Between the two of us, last I checked I was the one who has
the trace, so you can stand up there with your 99% certainty
of
doubting
it.
But I stand up here 100%
knowing
there are Midnights out there who don’t believe
in the war.” She turned, letting her voice carry to the spectators
on the benches. She glimpsed the familiar faces of Desi and Ophelia
and the other friends she had made there. “The trace has kept this
war alive far longer than it ever should have!” She spun slowly
back to face Benedict determinedly. “Let me go after Marita. If I
kill her, make me the Head of this Coven and I will free us from
the trace. It is the first step to ending this war. I don’t just
believe that,” she stated assuredly. “I know it. I know it with
every fibre of my being.”

The magik
clenched his jaw. “Your word is not enough. Neither is the word of
merely three other supernaturals-”

“
Then let us see.” Penelope suddenly stood to her feet,
looking up into the crowds. “Are there any others who would back
Caia?” She smiled softly. “Outside of the Council that
is.”

Benedict
glared at the interruption. “That is pointless. She would need at
least twenty others of significant background.”

Caia
wondered if that was a jab at the Travellers. People were kind of
snobby about them since they couldn’t really do powerful spells,
but they could use a communication spell to take them anywhere in
the world, regardless of whether they had ever been there before or
not.

Penelope
shrugged. “She is afforded the right of demonstration.”

The
Council all looked to the crowds expectantly and Caia wanted to
die. It was like being in high school with humans all over again…
waiting to see if anyone would come and sit with her at lunch, or
ask to be her lab partner when they were told to pair up. No one
ever did.