The Unmaking (The Rayne Whitmore Series Book 1) (32 page)

            “Child, are you well?”
Diana’s melodic voice fills my ears.

            “I am Diana, but I need
your advice,” I tell her as she blooms into existence.

            She appears before me in
an aqua dress, cut short in the front and long in the back, one strap draped
over her right shoulder, glowing and fierce. Her silky blonde hair flows in a
non-existent wind. Her beauty is otherworldly from her impossibly light blue
eyes to her model-like height made possible by her perfectly toned legs. Behind
me, I hear Anubis’s breath catch. Diana hears it too and tilts her head towards
Anubis. I turn and watch as he is unable to hold her gaze the same way I wasn’t
able to. Diana’s eyes twinkle with curiosity.

            “Who is your handsome
wolf?” Diana asks me, still eyeing Anubis, flirtatiously.

            “Diana, this is Anubis. He
has allied with me to take down the man known as Namen Young. Namen not only
killed my family but his as well. Not only that, but it seems that Namen may be
over two hundred years old. They call him the soul stealer and he’s more
powerful than I imagined.”

            “The witch is a taker of
souls? Do you know what he hopes to accomplish?”

            “He wants to take over our
country and then force humans to take drugs that will alter their DNA to make
them supernatural. If they refuse, they’ll be enslaved. There’s going to be war
Diana if this happens, not only in our country but supernaturals will either
have to come out of the woodwork everywhere else, or humans will go after
them,” I explain. Then, it dawns on me. That’s his entire plan. “He wants to
move swiftly taking over here, but he wants the rest of the world in chaos, so
that he will be in the best position for control. It’s a gamble. He’s forcing
the hands of everyone in the whole world. If supernaturals in other countries
win he wins, but if they don’t, he can offer them sanctuary, he’ll own them,
even if they hate him.”

            Anubis grunts at this
perspective and I know I’m right.

            “I have never heard of
this man. But if what you say is true, then, the repercussions of this will be
dire. Is he behind the lamia as well?” Diana asks, although I’m sure she’s
already guessed.

            “Yes. Selene is going to
try to shut the gate down that he’s using.”

            “With blood magic? Kaede
did not teach her such things.”

            “We have more help. She’s
showing her how to do it now.”

            “Who is this person
Rayne?” Diana asks suspiciously.

            “Her name is Zara Drake…
She’s a vampire,” I hesitate in saying, remembering what Zara said about the
Immortals, but stop abruptly when I see the fury in Diana’s eyes.

            “Surely, you are mistaken,
that vampire wouldn’t dare come near one of mine. Take me to her at once,”
Diana demands coldly.

            I hesitate and exchange
glances with Anubis. He doesn’t know that Zara is familiar with the Immortals
or that Zara has something against them.

            “Um, well,” I start.

            “Now!” Diana erupts. I
stumble back a few paces. The rage is burning off of her like a furnace and I
wonder just what it is about this vampire that could bring out such fury. Not
only that, but I do not want to see a battle between them. Especially not when
I need us to be strong and intact.

           
She won’t fight me
Rayne, it’s alright.
Zara tells me through our mind-link. There’s a sense
of danger in her thoughts as well as excitement and I don’t know if I like it.

           
How did you know what
was going on?
I ask, not understanding the power or limits to this link.

           
Your thoughts called to
me.
Is all she says, then, there’s silence that I understand as her closing
the bond. I’ll have to learn how to do that quickly.

            Together, we walk back to
where Selene is working with Zara. There’s tenseness in Anubis’s step and the
silence is super awkward.

            Finally, Anubis speaks up,
“I respect the fact that you are here, but please remember that this is my home
and I need you to respect that as well.” There’s a warning in his words as well
as a request. I wonder if it will fall on deaf ears.

            “Don’t make threats
towards me mortal. I will do as I please. However, I will do my best to take
into account that you are helping Rayne.”

            Anubis growls under his
breath. His eyes glow a goldish-yellow as he turns to face Diana. She inclines
her head towards him in the same way one would look at an unruly child. I start
to reach for Anubis’ arm, but I don’t want it bitten off, so I decide to let
them settle this.

            “This is my territory old
one. I don’t care about your power, longevity, or position. You will not
disrespect me on my lands.” There is ice in every single syllable and his
defiance sends chills down my spine.

            Diana studies Anubis for a
few seconds before tilting her head back in laughter. “Rayne has picked a fine
ally. There is fire inside of your wolf’s blood. But, make no mistake, with or
without the guidance of the full moon, I could end you here. However, you are
correct. I am a guest on your lands and my manners have escaped me. I will do my
best to keep your land from tasting any blood tonight.”

            Anubis huffs and stalks
ahead of us, clearly unhappy. He’ll probably let me have it later for bringing
her here.

            When we reach the front of
the main house, Zara and Selene are already outside waiting. Selene gives me a
look of confusion and then looks at Diana. Diana gives her a nod in
acknowledgement, then, turns her deadly gaze upon Zara. Zara pretends not to
even notice as she turns her back towards Diana and sets her weapon down. It’s
as if not only does she not respect her, Zara doesn’t even see Diana as a
threat. I can’t tell if she’s a fool or if that makes her that much more
dangerous. I guess only time will tell.

            “What is your game vampire?”
Diana asks, her voice sounding like poison. I step away from her and join the
rest of the group in the huddle they’ve formed as we watch the next events
unfold, unsure of what will transpire.

            “I have no dark motives
Diana. Actually, I’ve known Rayne for a long time. I’ve come to see her through
her battle and I will do her no harm,” Zara says smoothly. There’s an
undercurrent of rage there too. I can feel it through our bond.

            Diana looks at me quickly
before turning away. They stare each other down, an unspoken conversation
flowing between them.

            Then, Zara warns, “You
will not turn her against me with your lies. We are blood-linked now and she
will feel the truth of my words when it is time. I will get what’s mine, even
if I have to wait one hundred more years.”

            “What have you done
Rayne?” Diana asks me.

            “She’s done nothing!” Zara
snaps, her aura threatening to blow me over. I wonder if it’s just because of
our link. “The question is what have you done? You, with so much power, but
what have you to show for it? I am the one who pushed Rayne into more of her
power and I did it in one night. Were you just playing games with her in your
world? Do you even believe in their kind anymore?”

            Diana almost attacks, her
weight shifting as she changes her stance, but something in Zara’s face calls
her to hesitate.

            Zara continues pretending
not to notice, “When the time comes, I will make my move, but until then, rest
assured, you have nothing to fear. My duty now is to her, the one who was
marked. You will help her Diana. This entire world depends on it.” With that,
Zara turns her back on Diana once more and goes silently back into the house
while saying. “When you are finished here Selene, I will be waiting.”

            Then, the air shifts again
and Diana is in front of me, grabbing me harshly and pulling me back into her
world.

◊◊◊

            Vertigo takes over as I’m
not prepared for the speed at which I’m brought here. I fall to the ground on
all fours and almost puke, but Diana is hastily grabbing me by my arm and
pulling me back up to her. I’m not nearly as tall as her six foot frame, so she
forces me to look up at her as she squeezes my cheeks much more painfully than
necessary, especially since I still have no clue what’s going on.

            “What…the hell Diana?” I
sputter, still trying to keep my food down.

            “She is dangerous! That vampire,
you cannot trust her. She doesn’t want to help you. She just wants to use you
to get to me Rayne. She seeks to ruin us,” Diana wails angrily, her
British-like accent even more pronounced. I’ve never seen her lose her
composure before now. It’s unnerving watching her pace back and forth full of
rage and hate.

            “I don’t understand Diana.
She’s told me nothing and you’re not telling me anything either. What’s going
on? I need to know exactly why I can’t trust her.”

            “What you need to know is
what I wish to tell you.”

            “Fuck that. That doesn’t
fly with me. I’m not a child that you can just keep in the dark and expect to
behave. You should know me better than that.”

            Then, her icy blue eyes
turn on me, the power behind them piercing me to my core. My tattoo reacts to
her as if telling me that nothing good will come of this. She attempts to raid
my thoughts after knocking me to the ground with a blow that I never saw
coming. I try to push up from the ground, but she puts her foot on my back with
the force of a ton of bricks and holds me in place. My own anger builds up
inside at the invasion of my thoughts like an overflowing tub. Finally, she
lets me up, seemingly satisfied.

            I dust myself off and look
her square in the eyes, them watering in the process. Part of it due to the
pain of the violation and the other from standing up to her. “How can you
expect me to trust you over her when you do things like that! If you want to
know something all you have to do is ask me Diana. You don’t have to take my
thoughts from me. That’s no better than a molester or a rapist taking what they
want. I can’t fucking believe you right now! Where’s Lawrence? Maybe he’ll give
me some answers,” I snap on her, fighting back angry tears. Then, I start to
call out Lawrence’s name loudly, hoping that he’ll be around and can sort this
out.

            Diana looks at me in false
apology, then in determination as she grabs my arm again. I try to pull away,
but she won’t let me. She only releases me when I stop calling for him.

            “I’m sorry Rayne. It is
only a matter of time I suppose before she tells you her side of the story.
Maybe it’s best that you hear me out first,” Diana says, looking
uncharacteristically defeated.

            I cross my arms and wait.

            “Come. Let’s walk to the
lake while I tell you this story.” I follow Diana hesitantly as we stroll to
the place where I would often go for reflection. The place of peace. 

            I take off my shoes as we
settle into our favorite spot and dip my feet into the cool water. I don’t look
at Diana as I wait for her to speak.

            After what seems like an
eternity, Diana speaks, choosing her words carefully. “Child, we may be
Immortal, but we are not infallible. We make poor choices and sometimes it’s
much harder for someone as long lived as we to live with those choices.
Somewhere along the way, we may have lost sight of what was important and gave
up on your kind when you stopped believing in us. Because of that anger, we
took it out on another. She was like you, but was incredibly gifted even before
she had been unmade over two hundred years ago. I marked her myself, amazed at
the promise she displayed. She once stopped an entire pack of wolves from
massacring a village. We were proud of her. There was no one ever made stronger
than her. Then, a certain vampire was ordered to assassinate her; she was
becoming too dangerous for their liking. They fought, but the vampire couldn’t
do it.”

            Diana’s voice changes as
if she’s watching the story unfold before her eyes.

            “The vampire watched her
from afar, studying her habits, seeking to gain knowledge on the best way to
defeat a prodigy much like herself. I’m sure that vampire never truly imagined
that she could meet someone who could truly best her and she became intrigued
by the human. When our warrior touched blades with her, they fell in love. It
was said that their souls sang to each other through their swords.”

            “They would play a
dangerous game, fighting and letting each other go, never truly putting any
malice into their battles. They finally saw the futility in trying to be
enemies. Somehow, the vampire convinced her family that she’d be no threat to
them as long as they kept their own in check. So, Zara volunteered to police
her own so that our human would not have to worry about it. What your vampire
didn’t know is that the other families had gotten permission to assassinate
them both because together they had much more power than some of the rival
vampire families combined.”