Maikoda: Power of the Moon (Blue Moon Trilogy Book 2) (24 page)

              It was the man again. He called to her. You are the Hania and you have my blood. Maikoda, you have the gift of Earth. Use your gift to help your sisters find you. You will need them to help you. Use your gift. Use the power of the moon. 

              Layla was confused. Use her gifts? The power of the moon? How? Her mind was chaotic and no matter how much she tried to concentrate, she could not seem to relieve the confusion in her head.

              She thought back to Martin and his teachings. Focus. Concentrate. Breathe. She relaxed her body, becoming as she was when she had followed Taini’s scent trail and pretended she was doing it again, that she was trying to track Martin.

              Strangely light, her head no longer seemed as fuzzy and she seemed to be able to concentrate. Opening her eyes, she looked around. The room was bathed in the glow of moonlight. It streamed in from the window and although it was far from her, strength flowed into her from its light. 

              The power of the moon. She walked over to the bars of her cage and closed her eyes, leaning against the metal. She would give anything to be free, she thought. If only she could leave. If only she could be free of this awful place.

              Suddenly, she felt liberated. She opened her eyes. She was standing on the other side of the bars. She looked back at the cage, confused and her breath caught on a gasp as she stared at the crumpled form lying on her blankets. 

              Her eyes moved to her hands, no longer tanned, but a pale copy of their former selves. She shuddered. She was dead. They had killed her. Did that mean she was a ghost? Was she still here because she had unfinished business? 

              Tentatively, she took a step forward as she looked carefully around her. Where was the light? She knew enough that she wanted to avoid that damn light; she had too much to do first. Even if she could no longer save herself, the least she could do was alert to others to where Suzette was hiding. 

              She moved quickly up the stairs and slipped through the wooden door the same way she had moved through the bars. Two Weres were asleep on the floor and she wondered where the others were. A quick sniff and she knew. Suzette, alone on one side of the house; Amy and Ray in the bedroom near her. 

              As much as Layla wanted to haunt the hell out of everyone in the house, she knew she had to hurry. Just because she was dead didn’t mean Suzette couldn’t still wreak havoc on this town and by morning they would be gone.

              Layla walked out into the night. Surprisingly, the cold wintry temperatures had no effect on her. She was dead; she thought and looked back as she moved down the path leading away from the house. 

              No footsteps. She was a ghost moving through the night. She wondered what Suzette would think when she found her body. Would she kill whoever had poisoned her? Was it Amy? Or Ray?

              Closing her eyes, she hoped that her gift would still work. She looked for Taini’s scent trail, testing the air again and again, but could not find it. She took a deep breath, feeling odd when no air entered her lungs and sat down in the snow, her bare feet beneath her. She tried to picture Taini’s gift, hoping that would allow her to see some sort of scent trail to guide her back to the village. Nothing. Some informant she was turning out to be. 

              A thought came to her and she perked up. Pamuya had said that she sent Layla dreams. In her current state, would she be able to do the same? Could she send Pamuya a vision of her? It was worth a try. Technically, she wasn’t exactly dreaming, but being a ghost had to be the next best thing. She concentrated on Pamuya’s face, imagining her in slumber. 

              I am here, I am here, I am here, she chanted, hoping her sister could hear her. She tried to project the images of what she saw as she looked around, concentrating on them and imagining them entering Pamuya’s mind.

              She tried to tell Pamuya that they were leaving the next day and gave the other woman a glimpse of the horizon, the landscape, the shape of the nearby mountains. Anything that could help them locate her. She even stared at the house in the hopes that someone may have come across it in the past and may remember it.

              After what felt like hours, Layla stopped. She had no idea if Pamuya had heard her or not. She didn’t even know if the other woman was asleep or if she was a part of the search party. Either way, she was exhausted. The rising sun kissed her skin and she glanced up. The silver moonlight was starting to change in color, its rays bathing her body. 

              The sensation was different. It was odd. She had not felt anything earlier even out in the snow. Oh no, she thought. This was the light. She was finally leaving. Pamuya had probably heard her, after all and her business was done. She closed her eyes and wished that she could see Brett one last time before she left.

              As magically as it had begun, the sun disappeared and in its place was a familiar chill.  Layla opened her eyes and gasped. She was standing in the room she and Brett had shared in her sister’s house. He was lying on the floor, tossing and turning, his sleep clearly disturbed. 

              She looked at his beautiful face; the long eyelashes that fanned his tanned cheeks, his lean, muscled torso above the covers twisted around him at the waist. He lay on his back, one arm thrown over his head, his long dark hair wild and free on the pillow. 

              Her fingers brushed his cheek as she leaned forward and kissed him, her lips to his own, the heat from him flooding her heart. She was saying goodbye. Perhaps, she would be able to help him in another form. 

              Suddenly his eyes popped open and he grabbed her hand. Layla gasped. He was touching her. That was impossible. She stared into his eyes.

              “Layla?” he whispered.

              “Brett,” she whispered back seconds before the strange pull began again. It was the same sensation she had felt when she felt the sun’s rays on her body. She was leaving. No. She couldn’t go just yet; she had so many things she wanted to say to him. She struggled to stay willing her body to remain where it was. 

              A drumming started in her head as her body began to warm and a light began to shine in one corner of the room. The light got brighter and brighter and Brett’s hand slipped away from hers. She was fading. She had to tell him about Suzette. She had to tell him she loved him. 

              “Tell Pamuya that Suzette is here. She is in the mountains near—!”

              Without a sound, she was sucked back with a jerk, twisting through a vortex of energy, represented by swirling colors. She was free falling and she closed her eyes, afraid of what she might see as she landed. 

              Her eyes popped open. She was back in her prison but instead of the silver moonlight, bright golden sunlight fell into the room. She was not dead. She took a deep breath, relieved when cold air rushed into her lungs, causing her to cough. 

              Although she could only hope that whatever she had experienced had been more than a dream and that someone had been listening. Sitting up, she held her head as footsteps raced down the stairs. Amy burst into the basement followed by Suzette and Ray. 

              “What did you do?” The younger woman practically yelled at her, banging her hands on the bars of the cage.

              Layla held her head and winced as the noise tore into her skull. “What are you talking about?”

              Amy shook the cage angrily. “What did you do?” She looked over at Suzette. “Something’s not right. She did something. I can’t tell what, but I know she did something.”

              She eyed Amy speculatively. This was her gift? Ray had alluded that she could sense deception, but on this level? She barely knew what she did and seconds after waking up, Amy was already on her case? No wonder the girl was as arrogant as she sister. Trickery didn’t work with her.

              Layla looked at Suzette. “I have no idea what she is talking about.” She groaned again as she held her head. “I just woke up. Someone drugged me last night. I have no idea what was going on.”

              Suzette studied her thoughtfully. “Did you give her the pills like I told you?”
              Amy nodded. “I ground them up into her food.”

              “Then she was out cold,” Suzette announced. “Those pills are the strongest things on the market.”

              Amy stared at Layla in suspicion. “She’s up to something, Suzette. We need to watch her. We need to keep a close eye on her.”

              Suzette nodded. “I agree. However, I am the alpha of this pack and I give the orders.” She looked at the Amy and Ray. “Go upstairs; I will be there in a moment.”

              She stared at Layla as the other two immediately left. “Amy is right. You are up to something.” She sniffed the air. “You even smell different and I will find out what it is. If you think that you can escape, you are wrong. If you think you can somehow contact your…friends, leave them a clue like you did earlier, I’d like to see you try.”

              Layla opened her mouth to protest and shut it quickly when Suzette banged her hands against the bars, losing her characteristic cool. 

              “But don’t worry; I only need you to have a beating heart.” She smiled cruelly. “And by the time Ray is done with you, that is all you will have.”

              Suzette whirled around and left, leaving Layla with a tense breath and a sickening feeling. Things were moving along a lot faster than she had thought. This time, when they came for her, she was not going down without a fight, even if it meant not seeing her family again.

*

              Brett stood in the bushes far from the house hidden in the hills. So far no one had noticed his presence. Sunlight glared against a basement window and he had a feeling that was where Suzette and the others were keeping Layla. He touched his lips where Layla’s had pressed against his last night. 

              She was still alive. She was okay. He had awoken in a daze, thinking that it was all a dream, but Pamuya had assured him that Layla had actually visited. That she was learning how to use her gifts.

              He smiled as he stooped lower when a shadow stepped near a window in the house. Suzette had been very clever; using her accomplices to leave false trails in the snow. He shuddered to think that if it wasn’t for sheer luck and a few strands of auburn hair in the snow, he would have gone the wrong way and lost her. 

              Martin caught his eye and signaled to him. Already, the Weres had surrounded the house. They had stayed back far enough that Suzette could not pick up on their presence. He hoped. Now, they were ready to close in. Layla had told Pamuya that they were leaving today. They had to time this right; otherwise he would lose Layla forever. 

              The group crept closer. Light flickered through the glass windows of the house. He was about to use the bird call they had agreed upon in case they needed to signal the other. Suddenly, the door opened and there she stood. Amy. His face tightened. He had not forgotten how she had tricked him and led him straight to Suzette and stood there while Suzette had almost gutted him. She had let him suffer. 

              She raised her hand to shield her face against the brightness of the morning sun. “Seriously, Brett? You might as well come out. We know you’re there.” She placed her other hand on her narrow hip. “You too, Martin. We can smell both of you.”

              Brett looked around at Dyami and Taini next to him. She shook her head. He understood. Obviously, Pamuya’s shield worked here too. Suzette and Amy had not sensed the other Weres.

              Brett quickly stood up and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Martin do the same. “Amy.”  He acknowledged coldly, playing his part with minimal effort. 

              She smiled at him. “Brett, Martin, come on in. You are just in time for the festivities.” She opened the door wider and waited for them to enter the house.

              Martin and Brett walked into the older cabin. The smell of fresh blood immediately assaulted Brett. He wrinkled his nose and noticed that Martin’s lips were drawn in distaste. Suzette disgusted him. Two children had gone missing from a nearby Were village and he had a strong feeling that the blood they smelled was not livestock. 

              Amy stood near the couch as she waited for them. “Took you long enough,” she complained with a grin before walking to a door at the far side of the kitchen. “Come on, she’s down here.”

              Brett held his breath as he followed Amy down the rickety wooden stairs. He was right. It led to the basement and in a cage in one corner was Layla. His heart sped up. She was alive. And she was okay. 

              His eyes narrowed as he took in the bruise on the side of her face and his gaze flickered over to the man standing near her. He was muscular, but shorter than Brett, with a mean look in his eyes and he knew instantly, this was the Were who had hurt her. He made a mental note to make the Were pay.

              Suzette stood to one side, her eyebrow raised as she watched them move closer. “Welcome.” 

              Ever one for dramatics, she gestured to a few chairs in the corner. They had obviously been expected. Two other Weres slipped out of the shadows and grabbed Brett and Martin, forcing them to the chair and strapping them down with metal clamps. Brett felt Martin’s gaze on him and released a slow breath to calm himself. This was all part of the plan; let them become complacent and then attack.