by Vlada Asta
The sea was whispering to them quietly, as if trying to prove everything was going to be alright.
“So you don’t like Laas?” Sebastian specified.
“I don’t understand him. Remember I told you that we were met by humans in his house, but I felt a Hente nearby? The feeling remains! Every time I get close to his mansion, I sense a Hente there, but it’s weird and vague and I can’t detect it. It’s confusing me! I don’t know what it can be.”
The waves were getting stronger, sending splashes far onto the beach. Some flakes of salty foam were nearly reaching Aeterni, but she wasn’t moving away from them. She either knew they wouldn’t touch her or she didn’t care.
“What are you going to do? I mean, with the worm.”
“The worm is a circumstance, not a threat,” Aeterni reminded him. “Tsiara is the threat. I don’t know what she’ll come up with next, but she’s going to stay low for now. We took many children from her and Goar during the last battle. She needs time to make new ones, and more of them, because she has learned that this amount isn’t enough to deal with me. And while they’re trying to do something, I’ll finish cleaning this city. I don’t want Hente staying here, no matter what Clan they are from, so if a new pack comes to Barcelona, it wouldn’t get any support from inside.”
“You could’ve run away…”
“Why?”
Her solid black eyes were watching him with such surprise that he couldn’t help smiling. He was amazed by how natural it was for her to ignore her own safety.
“Because they want to kill you,” Sebastian explained. “You can avoid it…”
“But that’s no fun! You have no idea how boring it is to wander in the wild lands alone. I’ve done that, and I don’t want to go back! I want to protect this city.”
“Even if you have to die for it?”
“Even so.”
“But why?” Sebastian was surprised. “What’s so special about it?”
“You are in this city.”
She pronounced it quietly, almost dreamily, and she caught him off guard. She had never demonstrated such sympathy before, and he wasn’t sure how to reply.
“Why so silent?” she laughed again. “You want to remain untouchable for the world, but it won’t work with me! I won’t leave you. And since that’s your world, I’m going to protect it. There are so many things I want to experience here… But the values I have thanks to you will always remain with me.”
Sebastian didn’t know how to react to this. He didn’t have to.
Aeterni leaned forward suddenly, and the distance between them wasn’t that great to begin with. He felt her lips touching his gently. He wasn’t used to being touched – and it had never happened like this… He felt that it was new to her too.
But she wanted it, and Sebastian just couldn’t avoid answering her desire, though his mind kept burning with prohibitions of the Church. He didn’t care, not at that moment. He could blame himself for this later. They were fighting each day, facing death, losing someone or something. Among this, why couldn’t he let himself, if only for this moment, feel his heart flutter in the thrill he had never known before?
He pulled her closer to him. Sebastian didn’t want to break the kiss – because he didn’t want to deal with the moment after it. It was inevitable, but he could accept it later, and so far all that mattered were the sky above them, the sea and her…
The strongest of predators and the natural enemy of humankind.
The only woman he had ever wanted this way.
***
Gabriella couldn’t believe her eyes. He was kissing her! Sebastian sat beside that sinful monster on the sand, and he was kissing her, holding her close to him! It didn’t look like the damn Hente was forcing him, it was clear that he enjoyed her touch.
That idea was so wrong that Gabriella even closed her eyes for a moment, hoping it was nothing but a hallucination. It didn’t help. When she opened her eyes, the couple was still there, oblivious to anything but each other.
The feelings that filled her soul at this moment reminded her of a sea storm. How could he? How did he turn into this? If he decided to abandon his oath as a church warrior, why did he choose to do it with this creature instead of a normal human woman? Gabriella, for instance…
She felt hurt and betrayed by what he was doing. She had always stayed by his side! She had been hinting that she was ready to become more than a sister and a friend to him, if he had wanted it… With time she accepted the fact he was too loyal to the Church to be with her.
And in reality, he wasn’t loyal at all, he was just a pervert!
Her first desire was to run to them, make them stop this scandalous act, tell them everything she thought about them. Gabriella wasn’t sure how she managed to keep enough self-control to avoid it. She knew it wouldn’t make any difference, Sebastian was in no condition to make the right decisions. And this predator… anything could be expected from her!
If Aeterni tried to kill Gabriella, whose side would he take? Would he be able to stop the Hente, even if he wanted to? And he might not want it… He’d watch Aeterni kill the witness, and then he’d personally drown Gabriella’s body in the sea to hide his disgrace.
Gabriella had never thought Sebastian could harm her, but now… She just didn’t know what was going on. She couldn’t trust them. He committed a crime that should be punished!
She ran away from the seashore, back to the city streets. She had to find a patrol that had enough warriors to deal with this monster.
Luck finally decided to return to her: she bumped into a seven men squad, controlled by Brother Lucas. He was really strong, everyone knew that – the Cardinal had called him the strongest warrior of the Church once. Besides, he didn’t like Aeterni to begin with, he’d be glad to get rid of her!
Seeing a breathless, frightened Gabriella, the warriors became alert. Most of them knew her personally, so they didn’t take her for a Hente.
“What’s wrong?” Brother Lucas asked.
“There… On the beach…” It was hard for Gabriella to talk, she wasn’t used to running. But the thought of Sebastian still alone with that monster fueled her determination. “Aeterni and…”
“Was she attacked?”
“She attacked!”
“Whom?!”
“Sebastian! She infected him, got into his mind and enslaved him! Now he obeys her every word, you have to save him! I think that’s why she arrived to the city!”
That wasn’t true. Even in her thoughts Gabriella knew she was lying to them. But she couldn’t explain what was really happening! She needed something that would make those soldiers act quick, fill their hearts with wrath, remind them of their old hatred for Aeterni.
Despite her expectations, Brother Lucas remained calm. He simply frowned, as if he was confused by something, but he was in no hurry to take action. The other six warriors were more emotional, their swords were already out and ready for action.
“They’re out there!” Gabriella pointed at the beach. “You must hurry, I think she wants to take him away from the city! You must save him!”
They didn’t wait for her to finish, running at the direction she pointed – without an order or a plan. They were thinking only about the crime that was about to happen there. Gabriella followed them in triumph; she didn’t pay attention to the fact only six warriors headed to the sea, one more remained standing on the street.
Women shouldn’t run, Gabriella had always believed that, and her modest long dress definitely wasn’t fit for it! That was why she was the last to reach the beach, when the action had already started.
The warriors surrounded Sebastian and Aeterni, locking them between the city and the sea. Sebastian also held his sword ready, but he wasn’t attacking yet, trying to explain something to them. Aeterni remained behind his back; she was silent, eyeing the humans with amusement clearly written on her face.
She was probably hoping to deceive them again. That wouldn’t work!
Gabriella was careful in choosing her lies. She knew it was a sin, but a lesser one in comparison to what these two were doing. Her version simply gave the warriors proper determination.
They were holding back only because they wanted to get Sebastian out of their way. Aeterni was a powerful opponent, and he was a strong warrior; it they fought together, seven people wouldn’t be enough to defeat them.
This squad had Lucas in it, he could take Sebastian’s full attention, but…
Gabriella had finally noticed that Lucas wasn’t on the beach. She turned around and saw that he was only just approaching them.
“What’s going on here?” he asked, standing in one line with his subordinates.
“You tell me!” Sebastian replied gloomily. “We’ve been walking along the coast when your proud eagles attacked us!”
“What were you doing here? I don’t see any Hente!”
“We’re not prisoners, we can walk wherever we want!”
“He’s under her control, just like Gabriella told us!” one of the soldiers shouted. “Captain, we must disarm both of them!”
Sebastian noticed Gabriella standing a bit behind the warriors. The reproach in his eyes was so obvious she felt herself blushing. But she wasn’t going to take her words back; some day he would understand it was all for his own good!
However, Lucas decided to make this even more complicated:
“Gabriella said Aeterni attacked you. Is that so?”
“They were hugging each other when we came here!” another warrior claimed. “They were very close! She must be destroyed!”
So they had finished kissing by the time the squad got here… Pity, because if they were still doing it, no talks would be necessary!
“We don’t have the authority to do this,” Lucas insisted. “Any complaint must be addressed to His Eminence…”
“Brother Lucas, you’ve been working with her closely too during the last mission…”
“Yeah! And after that mission you started treating her differently!”
It appeared that none of these soldiers participated in the battle against the large pack of Hente. They had been chosen to guard the city, Lucas was made their captain, and they didn’t really know him. Destiny was on her side! Gabriella decided she couldn’t miss such a chance and added:
“Perhaps that Hente came here to control the strongest warriors of the Church!”
“What are you talking about?!” Sebastian asked angrily. “Where did this nonsense even come from?”
But Gabriella ignored him, she was talking to the warriors:
“You must destroy her immediately! That’s the only way to save Brother Lucas and Brother Sebastian before it’s too late!”
“Female jealousy has no sanity,” Aeterni moaned. “Sebastian, those weirdoes are high on adrenalin, they can attack us any moment.”
Us! She was already making “us” out of two of them! Gabriella felt her face turn even hotter in anger. They were his family – she and Ulmanas, from the days before he became a warrior of the Church! This monster had no place in this family and no right to unite herself with Sebastian!
“I know,” Sebastian nodded. “I can handle them, don’t interfere.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. If you wound or even kill any of them, you’ll be in real trouble. The fact they’re acting like complete idiots wouldn’t be enough of an excuse for that.”
“Okay, do as you wish, but if there’s a threat to your life, I won’t stay away.”
“There will be no threat!” Lucas interfered. “And no fight! We’ll all head to Father Abraham right now, and he’ll decide what to do!”
His actions were probably correct, but they were unnerving Gabriella even more. Maybe there truly was some special Hente infection they were all succumbing to! But it wasn’t enough to influence those soldiers – they were too outraged for that.
“Captain, please, get out of our way!”
“She should’ve been executed long time ago!”
“If Brother Sebastian if truly infected, we have to kill him too!”
“There will be no fight,” Lucas repeated, putting his hand on his sword demonstratively. “This is my order as your captain. Disobeying it turns all of you into traitors.”
“I’m sorry, Captain, but we’d rather betray the law than our own souls!”
One of the warriors finally lost his patience and launched at Sebastian. The others followed him, as if it was some signal they’d been waiting for. Four of them attacked Sebastian and Aeterni. The remaining two wanted to join them, but they were distracted by Lucas. He didn’t say anything, but it was clear whose side he had taken.
Aeterni remained true to her word, she didn’t touch humans. She simply ducked when knives were flying her way, or moved away when a sword got too close; she was watching the warriors with sorrow and bitterness on her face. She wasn’t trying to talk to them though, and she held her hands behind her back.
Sebastian fought most of the squad alone. Gabriella had no idea he was that good! He held four opponents back easily, making them move away from the Hente. Lucas was equally efficient, but he only had two opponents.
Two warriors were better than six, and that angered the soldiers. At first they were being careful not to wound their comrades, but that stopped soon enough. They were fighting in their full force, and they wouldn’t regret shedding their Brothers’ blood.
In spite of her defendants’ talent, Aeterni was retreating slowly. Soon the sea was right behind her, and that made the Hente anxious.
“Guys! I don’t want to push it, but I don’t feel like turning into ashes today!”
Gabriella was triumphant. One more step – and that beast would be gone from the face of the earth, or attack the soldiers. But if Aeterni did that, she’d have to flee the city whether it was her fault or not. She had no place to hide, and the soldiers wouldn’t let her go back to safety. End of the line!
At least, it seemed so to Gabriella. A moment later she had to helplessly observe the Hente getting away from them all.
Aeterni stepped into the water, letting it touch her boots, and then she jumped. She flew some ten feet and ended up on one of the concrete constructions supporting the hydrosystem pump. Now she was completely out of reach: no human could jump this far, and swimming there in full armor wasn’t safe.
Although Aeterni didn’t look like she was comfortable there either. She held onto the concrete tight and closed her eyes. Waves were moving around her, their splashes could reach her any minute. But she was far, and that allowed her defenders to change their strategy.
Both Sebastian and Lucas were more confident now. They didn’t have to keep an eye on Aeterni all the time, and they could concentrate on their opponents.
They weren’t going to kill the soldiers; to end this fight they had to disarm or knock the young men unconscious. And they were quite successful at that.
Sebastian hit his first opponent on the temple with his dagger’s handle. He pushed two more onto the ground, making sure one of them hit his head while falling. Sebastian blocked the other’s windpipe for a short time, until the soldier passed out from the lack of oxygen. Three more were neutralized by Lucas, though Gabriella didn’t know how – she was too fascinated by Sebastian.
Soon only the three of them remained standing, with six bodies lying around them motionlessly. After making sure there wasn’t any danger left, Sebastian looked into Gabriella’s eyes again; his gaze hurt her more than any slap would.
“We sure have some explaining to do,” Lucas commented. “And there I was complaining about a boring patrol!”
“Will someone please get me out of here?” Aeterni reminded about herself. “I’ve been a good girl and didn’t kill a single moron, so I deserved it!”
“Can’t you just jump back?” Lucas asked.
“I’m not sure I can, and I’m not going to try it. Get some boat here, now! I need to get to the shore to tie lil’ Gabby’s spine into a
pretty knot! And only then will my evening become happy again!”
Chapter 11
“The Church has not denied her help officially,” his assistant reported. “But they no longer accept the responsibility for her. The rumors about her being able to control the mind of church warriors are already spreading around the city.”
Hearing this made Robert shake his head in disappointment. How could they be so primitive? They didn’t even see how illogical their claim was! If Aeterni could control human mind, why didn’t she do it to begin with? Why did she choose a mere soldier instead of enslaving the Cardinal? If she controlled him, she would control the city!
It was just another ridiculous story. Robert would’ve laughed about it if the situation hadn’t been so serious. The attacks on Aeterni had multiplied lately – in all aspects. He had a feeling someone was deliberately trying to get her out of Barcelona.
And they couldn’t afford that. Robert believed it not only because he needed her help – he knew she was helping the city, and those attacks only proved how effective she was.
She had been tolerating it for a long time. So far she had remained very calm about all the nonsense going on around her, but that couldn’t last forever. If she left, she wouldn’t come back.
“What options are they offering her?” Robert asked.
His assistants had been tracking everything connected to the Hente carefully. He couldn’t send them to follow Aeterni, he knew she would notice them, and he didn’t want to offend her. He decided to send his spies to infiltrate the city management and the Church.
“She wouldn’t be left unobserved,” the assistant replied. “But they won’t use the old scheme for it. The warrior that had been watching her had already been transferred to a patrol squad, their contact is strictly prohibited.”
That was a mistake. Robert saw them together, he noticed the way Sebastian was watching her, how he treated her. He managed to understand her true nature – just like Laas. There weren’t too many people who could appreciate the great gift this city had been blessed with. Prohibiting their contact was simply barbaric!