Blood Solstice: Part Three in the Tale of Lunarmorte (36 page)

“
It’s not that cool, Ryder.” Jae had pulled him away as Lucien
and Caia walked on.

“
It is unique. The golden arches can be found anywhere on
earth… here it’s white. It’s one of a kind. You know how I feel
about one of a kinds’.”

“
I do?” She’d asked dubiously as they caught up with Caia and
Lucien.

Ryder had
grinned at her. “I’m with you aren’t I.”

“
Dude.” Lucien smirked at him. “Smooth.”

Caia
laughed. It may have been cheesy but Jaeden had loved it, pulling
Ryder down for an amused kiss.

After
that they had made their way to the River Seine and had been
perusing the markets and the city’s architecture ever since. At
present they were at Pont Neuf not far from where they had come out
of the Centre at Notre Dame. The Louvre sat across the
river.

“
Louvre then?” Lucien asked, following her gaze.

“
Actually.” Jae appeared beside them entangled in her mate. “I
heard Musee d’Orsay is better.”

“
Well, it’s certainly smaller.” Ryder raised his eyebrows
pointedly. “Got my vote.”

“
Caia?” Lucien queried and she chuckled as Jae and Ryder
frowned at being ignored.

“
Musee d’Orsay sounds good.”

“
And then lunch,” Ryder begged.

Caia huffed, “We just ate a little while ago and
you
had the most to
eat.”

“
Hey, that little chocolate cupcake thing was
tiny.”

“
The three pan du chocolates and two croissants that followed
it were not.”

He puffed
up his chest. “Me man, me need more food than tiny waif
female.”

The Musee
d’Orsay was wonderful but Caia decided it was time to leave when a
bored Ryder thought it was a great idea to clamber up on a
priceless sculpture of the archangel Gabriel to get his photograph
taken. She masked the incident with magik and hurried them all out
of there with one last look at the stunning clock that graced the
high wall above the exit.

“
Now the Louvre?” Jaeden queried as the cold air nipped at
their skin.

“
No.” Caia blanched thinking of the damage Ryder could still
do. “I don’t think we should take the risk.”

“
I wanted to see the pyramid from the
Da Vinci Code
.” Ryder took hold of
Jaeden’s hand and begun leading them towards the museum.

“
OK.” Lucien gave in. “But we’re not going inside the actual
museum.”

“
OK,
dad.
”

The rest
of the afternoon fell away in laughter and ease. They tucked into a
great lunch at a café on the corner of Rue d’Arcole beside Notre
Dame Cathedral, and, despite the weather, Caia insisted on sitting
outside at the wicker tables. During lunch her gaze continually
went to the cathedral as tourists lined up in droves to get
in.

“
It’s beautiful, isn’t,” Lucien mused, following her
gaze.

She
nodded. “I wish we could go in.”

“
Well, why don’t we?” Jae asked munching on her crepes with
gusto.

Caia
laughed humourlessly. “We have a battle tomorrow… I don’t think we
should be pissing off the gods the night before a fight by entering
the home of the god who stole their fanbase.”

“
Ah, true.”

After
lunch they jumped on the metro to Montmartre, where they got lost
before eventually finding the steps that led up to the Sacré-Couer.
Ryder raced past them like a big kid, using his lykan grace to
sweep up the stairs past tourists without knocking them
over.

Caia
grinned at him as he bounced on his feet at the top, punching the
air before raising his hands in triumph.

“
What the Hades is he doing?” Lucien muttered in
amusement.

Caia
laughed. “Rocky!”

He raised
an eyebrow in ignorance.

“
Sylvester Stallone!”

He
shrugged. “Some actor, right?”

Caia
rolled her eyes. “I have no idea how you and Ryder became best
friends.”

The
Basilique was beautiful, but as the light started to fade they
shuffled back down the steps to find the nearest metro station. The
pack were having a special dinner tonight and had invited Marion,
Vanne, Reuben, Nikolai and Saffron to join them. Of course Laila
and Vil would be there, but they were part of the pack now, they
weren’t guests.

There
were only two seats available on the metro and, like the gentlemen
they were, Lucien and Ryder made sure Caia and Jae got them, before
wandering a little away to stand in the middle of the aisle.
Everyone else held onto the poles and hand rails. With their
balance, Lucien and Ryder didn’t need to.

“
I hope Alexa likes her gift.” Jae bit her lip, worry creasing
her brow.

“
Let me see it again.” Caia held out her hand.

Jae
pulled out the jewellery box and Caia took it from her, opening it
up to look over the necklace that lay nestled on velvet. They had
been passing the window of one of the many antique stores in the
city when a silver necklace had caught Jae’s eyes. The pendant was
stunning. Lounging on the silver crest of a half-moon was a
sleeping wolf carved in jet.

“
She’ll love it,” Caia whispered.

These
last days had not been easy for Alexa. Not only was she still mad
she hadn’t been able to take revenge against Marita personally, but
she had felt betrayed by Jaeden who she had thought had become a
good friend. Jae was trying her best to make it up to her. Last
night, when Lucien had given Alexa permission to fight in the
battle her mood had improved somewhat. Jae was hoping the necklace
would finish the job.

When they
reached Notre Dame Cathedral Caia cloaked them with magik and took
a hold of them all as they entered the portal that Penelope had
promised to leave open and guarded for the day. They stepped back
into the Centre, old pros now at using portals.

It was a
little bit of a hurry to get back to their rooms and wash up in
time for dinner, but they got to Ella and Magnus’ suite, where the
dinner was being set up, with time to spare.

When they
got there, however, everyone was already there anyway. It was the
anxiety and fear over the next day that had brought them together
early. Even the kids knew something was up, sticking close to one
another and eyeing the adults with perceptive eyes that made Caia
feel guilty for not telling them what was going to happen in the
morning.

Neither
Isaac, Imogen, Christian, Lucia, Julia, Mal or Cera would take part
in the fight tomorrow. They had children that needed them. As for
Draven and Kade they wanted to fight, feeling they had nothing else
to lose but each other. That meant Vil, Laila, Lucien, Ryder,
Jaeden, Irini, Alexa, Aidan, Ella, Magnus, Draven, Kade and Caia
were the members of the pack that would be on that battlefield in
the morning. They would be joined by Marion, Vanne, Reuben,
Saffron, the Council, Phoebe MacLachlan, her Alpha and fifteen
members of their pack. That was only the beginning. The entire
Centre would be there along with thousands of Daylights. It was
going to be the most awe-inspiring thing Caia had ever
witnessed.

Laila
fluttered from person to person with Vil trying to ease the tension
and fear. It worked somewhat, but Caia thought perhaps there was
just too much emotion between them all to soothe. Lucien tried to
keep it all light as everyone took their seats at the table. Caia
watched carefully as Vanne and Marion sat next to one another,
their shoulders brushing, their eyes meeting often. She smiled,
hoping they were friends again… and maybe more someday, she
mused.

“
This looks amazing.” Lucien gazed over the dishes upon dishes
that littered the table.

Vanne
shrugged. “I had the kitchens put in a little extra time. Thank you
for inviting me.”

“
And me.”

“
And me.”

The
grateful murmurs of Marion, Saffron, Nikolai and Reuben filtered
down the table.

“
I’m glad you all came.” Lucien smiled back and squeezed
Caia’s hand. “For tonight, why don’t we forget about tomorrow and
just enjoy each other’s company.”

And
that’s what they did. Friendly teasing and banter accompanied the
meal. Reuben was battered with questions about how old he was and
was he there when Marie Antoinette lost her head and did he meet
William Wallace and was Julius Caesar really such a
dick…?

He
laughed it all off, answering the questions gamely, looking to
Saffron for help when he could. As for the pack, they looked
happier than they had in a long time. They laughed with one another
and were able to speak of those they had lost with a sad humour and
sweet remembrance. Alexa laughed at something Jaeden had said,
twiddling the pendant of the wolf necklace that hung around her
neck. For a moment, Caia was debilitated by a sharp feeling of
utter terror. Would all this be gone tomorrow? Would the pack be
destroyed once more just as they were regaining themselves? And
would it all be her fault?

Caia, don’t
, she pleaded with
herself.

Fear was
for everyone else. They needed her to be confident and assured of
what they were doing, of what she was taking them into. This had
been her idea. She had no right to fear or doubt.

“
You OK?” Lucien whispered, leaning into her.

She
sipped a little of her wine and threw him a smile. “Of
course.”

“
I don’t believe you.”

Sometimes
Caia wished her mate didn’t understand her so well. “Really, I’m
OK.”

He didn’t
say anything more, but as they lay together that night, trying to
catch their breath after having lost themselves in each other,
Lucien propped himself up on his side and gazed down at her, his
eyes narrowed and serious. “You’re allowed to be afraid,
Caia.”

Warmth
sprung to life in her chest at the knowledge he understood her so
perfectly, but she shook her head with a sharp jerk. “No, I’m
not.”

He
scowled at her. “Of course you are.”

“
Lucien, I started this. This was all my idea. I can’t be
afraid when everyone else is or they’ll think that I’m not sure
we’re going to win this thing.”

“
Caia, they know there is a risk we won’t win this thing.
They’re not stupid. They’re not blindly following you into battle
because they think you’ve given them a 100% guarantee of survival.
They’re following you into battle because they believe in this… not
because they think you’re lack of fear is a promise of
victory.”

She gave
a huff of laughter that caught on a sob. “Then I guess I should
tell you I’m terrified.”

Snuggling
her close, Lucien kissed her softly on the cheek and rested his
head next to hers. “Me too.”

32 –
Pistols at Dawn

Unlike
human battlegrounds where terrain and weather could determine the
outcome, the supernatural battlefield was perfect. The chosen spot
was a massive beach with towering sand dunes to Caia’s left. To the
right the tide remained out and would do so for the entire length
of the fight due to a spell that had been cast on it by the
Daylights. The sand beneath her feet only looked like sand; she
didn’t feel the familiar sinking of her feet into the grains.
Instead, the ground was compact and smooth, as was the entire
beach. A dome-like barrier had been suspended over the area to
shield the supernaturals from human view. To prevent humans from
wandering onto the beach and banging up against the barrier,
another spell clouded the atmosphere, a spell to muddle the human
brain temporarily so that any thought to approaching the beach was
quashed, and replaced with one to go and get some ice cream or
something to that mundane end. The weather was still and perfect.
Not too hot, not too cold. And although the water could be heard
lapping in the distance, its spray didn’t come anywhere near
them.

Caia’s
stomach was in knots. She was sickly white with fear and anxiety,
just as the rest of the pack was. Her heart was pounding so hard
and fast she was constantly fighting the need to be sick, or pass
out. The build up to battle had been excruciating. It had taken
hours for the Daylights and Midnights to arrive, and now finally
the Council had announced it was time.

Across
the beach – at some 3,000 yards in the distance – stood the
assembled Midnights. Their battle lines were a fair mirror image of
the Daylights own. In a crescent-shaped line stood five different
divisions of Midnights. From left to right, the first two consisted
of daemons, the third and fourth of faeries in the shape of big
cats and large vultures; and in the fifth stood magiks. Behind that
line was another crescent made up of four more divisions. Behind
the daemons stood more faeries (all big cats) and guarding Orina
Beketov and the Council, who led from the very back, were two
blocks of magiks, and the fourth block of magiks guarded at the
back of the faeries and magiks in front.