Blood Solstice: Part Three in the Tale of Lunarmorte (29 page)

But
somehow… she didn’t think so. A trickle of sweat slid down the side
of his face.

Hacking
coughs shook Caia from her thoughts and she rushed to Lucien who
was being helped up by Draven. Her hands fluttered over him,
checking to make sure he was alright, and she breathed a sigh of
relief as his normal colour returned. He appeared dazed and pushed
her hands away as if she were irritating him.

“
Well, that was a surprise.”

Caia
looked up to see Reuben clambering back inside through the window
he had just been thrown out of. He brushed pieces of glass off and
then grinned unrepentantly. “Looks like I’m not impervious to you,
Caia. Although, I have to say that a blast like that would have
killed a lesser man. My feelings are hurt.”

Her jaw
dropped at his audacity, and her lykan coloured her words as she
replied through a mouth longing to fill with her sharp wolf teeth,
“You ever touch one of my pack again and I will send you back where
you came from, you son-of-a-bitch.”

He
quirked an eyebrow. “I’ll heed that warning. Since, apparently, you
might actually be able to do that.”

Draven
looked bewildered by the man. “You don’t seem that
bothered.”

Reuben
shrugged. “I’m not. I’m impressed. I’ve been waiting a long time
for someone like Caia.”

Lucien
growled and made a move towards the vampyre, but Caia pressed him
back, scolding him. She was rewarded with one of his frostiest
looks before he straightened his massive shoulders and thundered
out of the room, Magnus and Ella following in his wake.

Caia felt
tears of frustration prickle in her eyes. “You were going to kill
him.”

“
No.” The vampyre shook his head. “I know killing Lucien would
mean losing you, and I need you too much. I was merely teaching him
a lesson. He attacked unfairly.”

“
You blackmailed his mate.”

“
But it all turned out OK in the end.”

“
He doesn’t know that! He thinks I’m punishing him for kicking
me out of the pack.”

Reuben
threw her a condescending look before taking out a flask from his
inner coat pocket. It was full of blood. He went to take a swig and
noticed her watching. “You depleted my energy.”

Caia threw her hands up in the air, wondering why she even
bothered trying to get answers from the guy. “I’m going to find
Jaeden.
You
… stay
away from my pack.”

“
I don’t know if they’re your pack again just yet,
sweetheart,” he taunted, and laughed when her only answer was a
rude gesture.

24 – The
Green-eyed Monster

Rose’s
heart pounded in her chest as she stood in the middle of the woods,
some fifteen minutes from the hotel. She had just rushed out of a
pack meeting where Caia had told them all about the Septum and the
little girl, Eliza Emerett, she couldn’t kill. Caia had seemed to
go off into a world of her own as she described the little eleven
year old Midnight and where she lived. Rose smirked. She doubted
Caia had meant to be so detailed in her maudlin retelling of why
she couldn’t possibly go through with such a wicked plan. But that
was all Caia was telling them and Rose was more than a little
suspicious. Clutching the cell phone in her hand she prayed the
number she had for Marita was still in use. Surely if it was, and
she saw who it was calling, Marita could look into the trace and
see Rose was sincere in her intentions. All she had to do was fight
through the fog Reuben had put over her trace to hide her from
Marita, but she would be careful to keep where they were staying
still masked. It would be better if she held all the
cards.

Rose was reeling from Lucien’s betrayal, and yet she couldn’t
blame him. It wasn’t his fault. He was under that she-witches
spell. They all were! And Caia was going to bring the pack to
disaster. Lucien and his pack were good people, nothing like the
ambitious, deceitful pack she had grown up in where your best
friend would stab you in the back if it meant climbing up the next
rung on the hierarchical ladder. She had to save them from Caia,
from themselves, and then she and Lucien could finally be happy
together. Marita wasn’t a bad person! It dumbfounded her how all
these people could believe that a woman who had successfully led
the Daylight Coven against the Midnights could suddenly just become
a monster. This was a witch hunt started by a
being
that needed to be stopped. And
if Rose helped Marita stop Caia, she was sure she could negotiate a
pardon for the pack. Trembling with excitement Rose dialled the
number. It rung out for a while, but finally the tone
clicked.

“
Rose,” Marita’s familiar stern voice.

Relief
washed through her. “Oh thank goddess, Marita. Do you know why I’m
calling?”

“
Hmm, yes, I’m reading the trace. Very interesting.
What
is
interesting is I don’t know where you are.”

Rose
paused. “I can’t tell you that just yet.”

“
I see.” She was silent for a moment. “Fine. I appreciate you
calling, however. And this information I’m reading in the trace
about this Septum and this little girl. It’s all true?”

“
Yes,” Rose gushed. “Caia’s planning on destroying the
trace.”

Marita
hissed, “That little bitch.”

Rose
waited, her ears lifting under her hair every time she heard a
noise. No one could know she was doing this. They just wouldn’t
understand right now.

“
I want you to keep pretending you’re on their side, Rose.
Contact me if you discover anything else of importance.”

“
Of course.”

“
And Rose.”

“
Yes.”

“
I won’t forget your loyalty.”

25 – Last
Mistake

Caia was dancing with Lucien, her cheek pressed against his
shoulder as they swayed gently to the music. A soft breeze played
with the hem of her dress and tickled through her hair as she
sighed contentedly. It was a perfect night. The dark sky sewn
bright with stars as colourful as fireflies, the air temperate and
free, the sound of the surf crashing on shore as rhythmic as a
lullaby.

“
I love you,” she whispered and felt him squeeze her
close.

“
I love you, too.”

Caia pulled back to gaze up at him, smiling at the relief of
it all being over, that they could finally be together in
peace.

“
Caia,” he breathed… and the sound was followed by a sickening
wet whisper of metal through flesh. Lucien’s eyes widened in
surprise, his mouth falling open in shock – blood began pouring out
in its wake. He collapsed to his knees and Caia reached for him
with a soundless scream, helpless to do anything as the sword that
had torn through his heart twisted full circle. Lucien’s eyes
emptied, his expression going slack as he disappeared, leaving only
a body that tumbled down into the sand, a gory photograph of what
had once been the real man.

“
NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!” Caia screamed falling beside his body,
stunned out of action as she glanced around for the killer. There
was no one there. A sob broke out from deep in her heart and she
cried over her mate’s corpse.

The cold solidity of it vanished and Caia fell face first into
the sand. Propping herself up, spitting the beach out of her mouth,
her hands searched the ground for Lucien. He was gone. Looking
around she realised she was no longer on the beach. She was in a
room that seemed familiar. A child’s room filled with toys and
books. Familiar toys and books. A scream rent the air and terror
exploded throughout her. Mama! She cried inwardly, hugging her
small knees to her chest, shuffling further back against the
headboard of the bed she now sat on. Growls and howls reached her
ears from the outside and she jumped at the crescendo of items
crashing on the ground floor of the house.

“
ELIZA!” She heard her father scream, and she scrambled
forward on the bed, hearing his footsteps pounding down the hall.
Her bedroom door burst open and her father stood there, pale and
grief stricken. He clutched his chest and it was then she noticed
the swamp of thick blood soaking his entire upper body.

“
Run,” he ordered hoarsely, and then collapsed to the
floor.

Instinct took hold. She was always to listen to daddy!
Shutting out the sight of him dying on her floor she turned to the
tall window beside her bed and hitched it up with all her might.
Rucking up her night gown, her whole body trembling, she began
climbing through it and fumbled for purchase on the wall creeper
that allowed her mother’s ivy to neatly decorate the wall outside.
A blast of power shot past her shoulder, sending shards of glass in
every direction. She felt little cuts slice through her skin like
bee stings but it only made her move faster. She swung herself
fully onto the creeper and began scuttling down it. Thank goddess
she was on the first floor.

“
GET HER!” She heard an unfamiliar voice scream as her bare
feet touched grass. She turned and stared out over the garden.
Beyond the garden was her father’s land and beyond that a lake and
beyond that woods. If she could get to the woods she could
hide.

Caia jerked awake, sucking in a rush of air in her panic.
Eliza. The little girl from the Septum! The little girl may not
have recognised the voice that screamed ‘Get her!”’ but Caia would
know it anywhere. Marita was going after Eliza Emerett and it was
all her fault. She jumped out of the bed she had been given in the
hotel and hurried into her clothing. She had to save Eliza and
there was no time to wait. Drawing on her energy, she used a
communication spell to take her to Vil and Laila’s room praying she
wouldn’t interrupt
anything
. It was daytime after all.
She snorted at herself. Like that would stop them. Thankfully she
didn’t, but her energy shook the two magiks awake from a
nap.

“
Caia, wha-”

“
I have no time to explain.” She rushed to Vil, throwing his
jeans at him. “Put these on and take me to Eliza Emerett’s home.
Specifically the gardens!”

Caia had
never adored anyone more in that moment as he pulled on his jeans
and gripped her arm without a word of question. She could have
kissed him!

The
travel was rocky, probably because Vil was still half asleep, so
they got there feeling a little woozy. The sounds of growls and
shrieks met their ears instantly and Vil paled as he realised what
she had gotten them into. Perusing their surroundings, her heart
gave a thump as she saw the little white figure in the dark a few
hundred yards ahead of them.

“
There, Vil, take me to her!” She pointed and they were gone
again, and then back within seconds.

“
Oommph!” Vil grunted and Caia shook herself together in time
to see Vil wrap his arms around Eliza who had ran straight into
them. She began struggling and crying and he fought to hold on to
her.

A howl
shot through the night and Caia looked up to see six lykans
crossing through the gardens towards them. Oh bloody
Hades!

“
Vil, this is Eliza Emerett and those are Marita’s lykans.
Take her back to the pack. Now!”

His eyes
widened as he struggled to hold the hysterical girl. “What about
you?!”

“
Never mind me. Go! That’s an order!”

Stunned
and unhappy, he gripped Eliza and then vanished.

Heart
thudding in her chest, Caia turned to face the lykans and sought
the warm heat of her lykan energy. She was a wolf in
seconds.

A wolf
that was ready to destroy those who had killed Eliza’s parents and
were hell bent on spilling the little girl’s innocent
blood.

She drew
back her muzzle as they drew nearer, snarling and posturing, thick
saliva dripping over her jaws. With a harsh howl of her own she
propelled herself forward, launching herself at the nearest lykan,
her claws slashing across its fur. The lykan whined but managed to
swipe at her, making contact and tugging her body close so they
were locked in a fight, jaws nipping, bodies tumbling as each tried
to gain an advantage over the other.

Finally,
Caia managed to protract her claws into the lykan’s belly and pull
upwards. The lykan howled and went limp. Dragging herself out from
under its injured form, Caia found herself outflanked by five other
lykans; Marita and an unfamiliar magik stood at their backs,
smiling smugly.

“
Oh, dear Caia. You are in a pickle now, aren’t
you?”

“
Not quite.”

Caia
jerked her head around at the voice. Vil and Jaeden stood before
them, Jae’s hand outstretched, face fierce with
concentration.

A baffled
yell.

Caia
watched with pleasure as Marita and the magik were blasted a good
hundred yards away from them.

A sharp,
piercing pain ripped through Caia’s side and she yelped at the
attack, shaking the wolf off in order to turn around and face it.
In her peripheral, she witnessed Jaeden utilising her telekinesis
on the wolves and was distractedly stunned. Magik wasn’t supposed
to work on lykans! What the Hades…