“Follow me,” Derren demanded and Caia crossed the platform, surprised that her legs didn’t buckle beneath her. The hush that filled the hall was nerve crippling, all eyes burning into her. Was the entire Centre here? She felt her cheeks heat up under their watchful eyes. The funny thing was she thought she might able to cope with it better in wolf form.
Instead she straightened her spine and followed Derren until he stopped her smack bang in the centre of the room.
Am I on trial or something?
She really wanted to ask but was frightened of messing up this ceremony or whatever it was.
Once Derren was seated with the others, an elegant man stood up. Caia recognised him as the guy who hadn’t seemed to like her much when she’d first met with the Council to tell them about the underground labs Marita had created. Well, he should be fun. Like Derren his voice boomed around the entire court.
“Caia Ribeiro, allow me to introduce myself.” His dark stare wasn’t at all friendly. “I am Benedict De Jong a member of the Council. We have just spent the last thirty minutes-
Thirty minutes? That was all?
-listening to a young man, with no affiliation to the Centre, tell us of your plan to kill Marita, and ask us to make you Head of the Daylight Coven in order to gain a control of both Midnight and Daylight trace, all with the intent to perform a rite soliciting the aid of the gods to remove the trace from the supernatural world, thus freeing its inhabitants.”
It sounded really cool when he said it.
“Is this or is this not true?”
Caia nodded. “Yes, sir, it is.” She almost flinched when she realised her voice was just as loud. There must have been a speaker spell of some kind on the room so their voices carried.
A rumbling of murmurings followed this, before De Jong gestured for them to be quiet.
“Such a request would have been completely dismissed if not for the support given by not only Saffron, one of our most trusted and experienced shapeshifters, but also Vanne, who has helped lead this Coven in war for decades. These are supernaturals who have sacrificed many things for the cause, and now they are risking their good name for you. Why? Why should we believe you, a girl of Midnight blood, a girl who has been thrown out of her own pack, who has aided and abetted the escape of a young female Midnight imprisoned at this Centre, who trusts the words of a Midnight Prophet, and who hides out in the home of the former Regent of the Midnight Coven?”
Caia had to stop her mouth from dropping open. She glanced up at Reuben who gave a barely perceptible shrug. The son-of-a-bitch had told them everything and hadn’t even had the decency to warn her first. She stiffened and met De Jong’s gaze. He was making it sound like she was a traitor or something.
“If Reuben has revealed all of this to you then he must have explained the circumstances.”
“Yes.” Benedict smirked. “Nikolai Petrovsky is a double agent; the Prophet is neither Midnight or Daylight at heart, and Laila is-”
“The purest soul I’ve ever met,” Caia interrupted, squaring her shoulders and blasting him with a ferocious look.
Gasps echoed around the room.
Benedict curled his lip into a sneer. “A Midnight… pure? Please do not tell me you still believe this nonsense that there are ‘good’ Midnights.”
She wanted to punch the arrogant bastard. She curled her lip right back at him. “It isn’t nonsense. There are good Midnights. Many of them.”
More gasps. Great.
The warlock glared at her. “I rather doubt it.”
“Between the two of us, last I checked I was the one who has the trace, so you can stand up there with your 99% certainty of doubting it. But I stand up here 100% knowing there are Midnights out there who don’t believe in the war.” She turned, letting her voice carry to the spectators on the benches. She glimpsed the familiar faces of Desi and Ophelia and the other friends she had made there. “The trace has kept this war alive far longer than it ever should have!” She spun slowly back to face Benedict determinedly. “Let me go after Marita. If I kill her, make me the Head of this Coven and I will free us from the trace. It is the first step to ending this war. I don’t just believe that,” she stated assuredly. “I know it. I know it with every fibre of my being.”
The magik clenched his jaw. “Your word is not enough. Neither is the word of merely three other supernaturals-”
“Then let us see.” Penelope suddenly stood to her feet, looking up into the crowds. “Are there any others who would back Caia?” She smiled softly. “Outside of the Council that is.”
Benedict glared at the interruption. “That is pointless. She would need at least twenty others of significant background.”
Caia wondered if that was a jab at the Travellers. People were kind of snobby about them since they couldn’t really do powerful spells, but they could use a communication spell to take them anywhere in the world, regardless of whether they had ever been there before or not.
Penelope shrugged. “She is afforded the right of demonstration.”
The Council all looked to the crowds expectantly and Caia wanted to die. It was like being in high school with humans all over again… waiting to see if anyone would come and sit with her at lunch, or ask to be her lab partner when they were told to pair up. No one ever did.
The sound of wood creaking lifted her gaze off of Benedict as Reuben, Saffron and Vanne made their way towards her in the centre of the room. They smiled reassuringly, Vanne squeezing her shoulder as they took their places behind her. The next person was a surprise because Caia hadn’t realised she was at the Centre: Phoebe MacLachlan. The statuesque beauty strode across the room self-assuredly, her expression as serious as always. Caia smiled gratefully at her and Phoebe nodded before turning to the Council. “My vote of confidence in Caia is shared by all members of my pack, including its Alpha, Alistair MacLachlan. That is approximately fifty other lykans Mr De Jong.”
The magik paled slightly. “Well…”
But before he could argue, the noise of people standing from their seats drowned him out. Caia watched in amazement as Desi and Ophelia led eight other Travellers to her side. Michael Brown, the Head of the Second Unit of Vampyres, descended the stairs with most of his unit in tow. He smirked at Lyla, the Head of the Third Unit of lykans, as she came along the aisle to meet him, lykans trailing at her back. Others crossed the room, all faces she recognised as the people she had conversed with during her studies here at the Centre. Altogether there stood at least sixty people at her back.
De Jong stared in utter shock.
Penelope smiled. “I think this is proof enough that Caia is trusted amongst many here at the Centre and that many are looking for the promise of change. Which means the Council will take this to a vote. Excuse us whilst we convene in the chambers below.”
Silently they made their way downstairs.
“Well done, Caia.” Reuben grinned and drew her into a surprising hug. He pulled back and stroked her cheek affectionately. “Not just a pretty face.”
She rolled her eyes at him and turned to speak with Phoebe, thanking her for her support. The lykan stood vigilantly by her side as Caia conversed with everyone who had taken to the platform in favour of her plan. It was overwhelming and unbelievable and yet… undeniably wonderful. As Desi and Ophelia giggled and hugged her, a moving realisation hit. It would appear she wasn’t quite so alone after all.
***
The crowd dispersed, everyone reluctantly finding their seats amongst the rows again as the Council entered the hall. Their combined power intrigued Caia, their energy announcing their arrival before she even saw them. Alfred nodded kindly at her as he took his seat and she took hope in the fact that Penelope seemed pleased with herself. Benedict stood up for the Council once more, his expression revealing little.
“Miss Ribeiro, the Council has voted. The outcome, although not unanimous-
Yeah, I’ll bet.
-is in your favour.”
She heard
an outburst of hooting and clapping coming from the Travellers and was afraid to grin and look over in case it changed the Council’s mind.
“HOWEVER!” Benedict shouted over the noise, causing silence to descend along with Caia’s stomach. “You must agree to make a blood oath, promising to give up the trace to the gods, as you say is your intention, and not keep it for your own gain.”
She began to speak, to promise that of course she would, when Alfred interrupted quickly, “Caia, you should be made aware of what a blood oath entails first… before agreeing to anything.” He shot Benedict a dirty look if rebuke.
Benedict sneered. “Of course. Miss Ribeiro, a blood oath is made between yourself and the person you have sworn the promise to. In most cases this is merely one person. In this instance you will swear the blood oath to the nine members of this Council.”
OK, that didn’t sound so bad.
“The blood oath acts as a binding spell. If you break your oath to the person you swore it to, then part of your power transfers to that person.” He smiled wickedly now. “Usually, it is not that detrimental to a person. But for you, Miss Ribeiro, well… if you break your oath to the Council, then each of us will acquire some of your energy.”
Okkaay… she could see where he was going with this.
“Losing energy to nine people under a blood oath would mean the loss of all your magikal power, Miss Ribeiro.”
A tense silence filled the air. De Jong was smirking at her as if this was some form of torture for her. In fact, everyone seemed to be on tenterhooks waiting for her reply. Only her friends sat confidently in their seats because… they knew her. This wasn’t a problem for her.
She smiled slowly. “Mr De Jong, I have no hesitation in agreeing to a blood oath, because I have every intention of giving up the trace.”
He lost the smirk as most of the Council relaxed in relief at her answer. Chatter bounced off the walls whilst Caia stood there. Finally, Penelope took to her feet. “If you will follow us, Caia, we will begin the ceremony for the blood oath immediately.”
20 – Save Me From Myself
Jaeden held her hand out towards the plate as it hovered in the air, kept under tight control with her telekinesis. With a wave of satisfaction she flicked her wrist, sending the china careening into the nearest tree. She smiled humourlessly as the shattered remnants found company with the five other pieces of china she had obliterated. Glancing down at the box filled with more expensive dinnerware, she tried not to feel impotent that this was her only act of revenge on Reuben.
Wow. Destroying his china pattern. What a kick to the cajonies.
After weeks of berating herself and the vampyre, Jaeden had finally dashed into the huge kitchen to look for something to train with out in the woods. Instead, she had stumbled across some really expensive china Reuben had locked in a closet at the back of the kitchen in boxes. She didn’t know for certain if the stuff was his, but she decided to use it for target practice on the off chance that it might be. Now she was far out into the woods away from the rest of the pack, doing just that. Ah, away from the rest of the pack, she mused. No change there then. For the week that Caia had been gone, Jaeden had avoided almost everyone. The only person she really spoke to was Alexa, and thus Mal and Finlay since they never left their sister’s side. It was beginning to drive Lex nuts and Jae’s company was always a welcome relief from her brothers. But as the weeks turned so did Jaeden’s heart. The immediate rage she had felt over her father’s death had calmed enough for her to begin to feel all kinds of guilty for what she had done to Caia. She actually couldn’t comprehend how she could have let Caia be kicked out of the pack. And all she wanted to do now was find her and fix it. But how could she fix it when she couldn’t even fix herself and her relationships with the pack? She hadn’t spoken to her mother, and ignored her when Julia tried to approach her. As for her relationship with Ryder it was pretty much over. Her heart flipped in her chest at the thought. Their meeting in the hall the day Caia left wasn’t to be their last. For two weeks Ryder cornered her whenever he got the chance, and all she did was insult and offend him… oh gods she had said some horrible things. She had told him she didn’t love him anymore. And Hades that wasn’t true. She loved him so much she was terrified of losing him too. So pushing him away… that had been a smart plan. Not. Now he could barely look at her. As for Lucien, he was trying his best to keep the pack together, insisting on weekly runs with one another and insisting they all ate together. At first those occasions had been blunted by grief and Jaeden’s animosity, but she had gradually been relegated to an outsider through her own means; the pack easing into casual conversations with each other, easing into playing and enjoying the euphoria and release of the pack run. With the exception of Alexa and herself, the pack grieved as one and were the better for it. Jaeden didn’t miss that Vil and Laila’s soothing presence helped. Especially little Laila; she had a gift for creating peace among them. Their other gifts had also come in handy when members of the pack went food shopping in the nearest town – Laila used her magik to glamour them so no one would begin to question the strangers that kept popping into town. Their other guest, Rose, was a different matter. As Jaeden’s guilt over what she had done to Caia began to grow unbearable, her misdirected anger at Rose grew as well. She snapped and snarled at the lykan any chance she got. Part of her knew it was psychological crap, but the other part of her knew, as she watched Rose with Lucien, that the female wolf was biding her time with their Alpha, awaiting the moment when he threw away Caia’s memory for good and made Rose his partner.
Dear goddess, it was all her fault.
She felt the box of dishes begin to shake and she clenched her fists, bringing her emotions back under control. It was all too late anyway. What was done was done and there was nothing she could do about it. She didn’t have the energy to do anything about it.
Frustrated as all Hades at herself, Jaeden began ripping her clothes off. Once naked, she crouched down on to all fours, luxuriating in the soft mud that seeped between her fingers and toes and cushioned the weight on her knees. She pushed the change, wincing in relief at the piercing of each hair through her skin, eyes burning taut as her ears transformed, her face shifting. Her jaw cracked as it elongated out, her teeth filling her mouth rapidly. The echoing snap of her bones as her spine, legs, and arms morphed sent a premature howl from between lips still formed from the median change. Jaeden gasped in satisfaction at the stinging pain of her claws lengthening, and concentrated on slowing the process to prolong the happy liberation the change wrought.
Finally, she lay in wolf-form, panting into the floor of the forest. She wondered if she would be happier as a wolf. And then she saw a rabbit dash from between a tree, it’s frightened eye catching sight of her before tearing off into the camouflage of the woods. A real wolf would see the rabbit and lick its lips at the thought of the hunt and kill, but a lykan like her still had ‘aw, a bunny’ thoughts running through her head. Probably wouldn’t be happier as just as a wolf then.
Ignoring the frightened lump of fur, Jae got to her fours and began to run in the opposite direction. Her mind cleared with the run, her muscles unknotted, her soul forgotten along with the time. She ran for hours, the fading light suggesting she head back and change into her clothes for dinner. With a huff through her snout, she raced back through the trees and skidded to a stop when she came to her clothes and the broken china. The change back was faster and the cold night air made her hurry back into her clothes. She was just pulling her t-shirt over her head when a familiar voice sucked the breath out of her body.
“You were gone a while.”
Jaeden finished dressing and spun around to find Ryder leaning against the tree she’d used as target practice. He gave the broken plates a pointed look but didn’t say anything.
She gulped as he crossed his arms over his chest, his biceps rippling as he moved. Oh goddess, he looked good in those jeans and white t-shirt. Smelled good too, she thought lo
ngingly, as she caught his scent in the breeze.
“No hello?” He asked straightening up. His eyes were narrowed and challenging. Full of dislike.
She shrugged defensively. “What do you want?”
He laughed low and grimly. “What do I want she asks. That’s funny.”
Her stomach churned, not liking his tone of voice at all. They hadn’t spoken in weeks, and before when they had, she still had all that anger keeping her nice and detached. Now she was just a vulnerable mess. An easy target.
“What’s funny?” she asked quietly, trying to infuse some belligerence into her tone.
He moved slowly, predatorily towards her and she felt herself back up unconsciously. “You. Asking me what I want? Not really something that’s crossed your mind these last few weeks.”
Jaeden didn’t reply. There was nothing she could say. She had abandoned him when he needed her the most.
“What?” He mocked. “No witty comeback, no insult to cut me to the quick?”
“Ry-”
“How about telling me you don’t love me anymore… cos’ I gotta tell you I really enjoyed that the first time round.”
“I-”
“No. Forget about me for a minute, why don’t we talk about the fact you haven’t spoken to your mother since her husband died-”
She growled, “My father!”
Ryder glared at her and smacked a hand off his forehead. “Oh, stupid me, I forgot Jaeden was the only one to lose someone that day!”
Oh crap, she groaned feeling frustrated tears burn her throat and eyes. “Ryder, please don-”
“Ryder, don’t what?” he spat. “Finally give you hell for all your bullshit!”
Jaeden squirmed, wishing the ground would swallow her whole. Her mate had finally snapped and he wanted to have it out, here and now. She just didn’t think she could handle it all. So she did what she’d been good at lately and began to walk past him toward the hotel. A frightening snarl ripped out from the back of his throat and his hand shot out, gripping her by the t-shirt and propelling her back with force into a tree. He loomed over in the darkness, his amber eyes bright with fury as he pinned her there.
Blood Solstice: Part Three in the Tale of Lunarmorte Page 17