Days of Innocence (The Firsts Book 13)

by C. L. Quinn

  “So I understand you think you’re meant to help us.”

  Talib cleared his throat and stood, the iris of his eyes glowing slightly. “Luka, we’re here to fulfill a part of our destiny. We are supposed to be here, I saw it in a vision.”

  “Really? I don’t remember this being a part of the grand destiny.”

  “It’s ever-evolving. No one knows what it will really entail, but this I know without doubt. It is this team of first blood children who will bring your Totem children home. My visions are incontrovertible. Luka, this is part of our journey.”

  Movement at the entrance drew everyone’s gaze as a stunning dark skinned woman entered with three men of similar coloring. Her long black hair hung in three braids down her back and brushed her buttocks as she walked.

  No, Cairine thought, she didn’t walk, she glided. She was Luka’s mate, Kalia, a Totem female he’d been with for over twenty years. In that time Kalia had borne four Totem children with her mother’s assistance.

  Park had used artificial insemination to help the Totem tribe birth record numbers of children with pure Totem genes, the only way that the Totem people in this area of the world might survive. Over the past several centuries, through a variety of causes, births within the community had dropped so low, the numbers meant the end of the race within another hundred years. Because of Cairine’s mother’s help, that fate had been averted.

  Luka reached for Kalia, his hand moving over her small palm, his fingers caressing the soft fur that often covered it. Safe within their hidden world, Totems relaxed enough that features of their spirit animals often manifested. Kalia was an Amazonian panther, and today, with concern marring her forehead, so did some of the elements of her cat nature. Thin whiskers protruded from her cheeks and golden fur with subtle black stripes curved along the edge of her face and up the palms and sides of her hands.

  Mesmerized by the hybrid beauty of animal and human, Cairine couldn’t take her eyes off Kalia.

  With a bow and nod, Kalia faced everyone who had come across the world to help her people.

  “You are all so beautiful, as we knew you would be. Ahmose’s children, I know well. Hello, my children. And those of you who live with our savior, Park, in France, it is a delight to meet you all. I wish the circumstances were not so dire, but you are welcome, now and always, to our home.”

  “Kalia, we’re so happy to be able to help.” Brigitte leaned forward to grab a glass of wine. “Tell us what has happened.”

  Pacing, Kalia finally stopped and repeated her search over the ten young people waiting to find out why they had traveled so far. “You all may know that the Totem people have been losing numbers for many centuries. For the past twenty years, with the help of science, of Cairine’s mother, we finally have hope that our race will survive. Three days ago, ten of our precious children left the tribe and never came home.”

  She sighed as she returned to stand behind Luka, her hands on his shoulders. Even seated, he was nearly as tall as she was. Still, she commanded the room.

  “You have to understand that we live in this isolated place because of its beauty, and distance from humans. We’ve always been safe here. No one has ever penetrated our borders, not even close. Our children have always been true to their natures. Even as a child, we take the shape of our spirit animals and blend into the forest to touch that spirit. A cat must run, a bird must fly, a serpent must slide through the warm earth or move amongst the trees. So our children go, become who they are, and come home to us. We do not worry. But today, we have reason to do so.”

  Luka stood. “The children did not return right away, but no one had any concerns. Then two days ago, on a patrol just beyond our border, we found a camp, fifteen men that we could count, we’d never seen before. They do not belong here. We went in to question them, but they shot at us. I was fatally injured, which, damn it, has happened too often in my life, but the others got away. When I came to, the unwelcome men were gone, leaving no clue as to their current whereabouts, what they were doing here, if they are a threat, or if they have anything to do with our missing kids. We need to find them, and the kids. Do you really think your skills can help us do that? You know we expected your parents.”

  Kalia stepped forth again. “Ten Totem children are missing. Our precious children. This matters more than anything in our lives. Can you really help?”

  Talib slid off the cushion. “We are the ones who do. I have seen it in a vision. It is the children of the vampires who must be here and bring them home. They are well, I am certain of it. Trust us.”

  “I have learned that I can trust the vampire world. You are honorable people. Please understand, all of these children are irreplaceable. But two of them are my own daughters.” It was obvious Kalia wasn’t accustomed to revealing her raw emotions. “You must bring them home. Bring them all home.”

  Eras stood, a hand on Talib’s shoulder. “We will. Tell us where they may have been, show us where you found these men who assaulted you, and we will begin there.”

  Luka waved to him. “There’s a map of the area. I’ll get it and we’ll go over what we know.”

  Luka kissed Kalia lightly on the cheek and left the room. Kalia smiled at the warriors. “Please, enjoy the food. We have packs prepared for each of you since you’ll be traveling in our rain forest and there are, of course, no restaurants here.”

  After reaching for a strange looking vegetable, Brigitte stood. “Kalia, we need another pack. Shortly, a second plane will arrive with the final member of our group. Crezia from Boston should be here soon.”

  Bowing low, Kalia nodded. “I will see to it. There are no words to thank you for this. Prayers are sent to the earth and heavens that you find the children and all of you return safe soon. Once you do, there will be a great celebration.” She left the room as gracefully as she came.

  “Whew, these are lovely people,” Cairine commented. “We cannot fail to help their children.”

  “We will not fail,” Talib said.

  Ife stood abruptly, her eyes closed. Brigitte had noticed her sister’s silence through most of the flight.

  “Ife, what is going on?”

  Moments passed before Ife’s eyes opened and she licked her lips. “I’ve been feeling something. Um, I’m not sure what. For hours, something has been floating around my mind, trying to make an impression, but all I’m getting are images. I’ve never had visions like Talib, but I think that maybe…”

  Talib walked forward and placed his hands on her cheeks, closed his eyes, she closed hers again, and they stood quietly. Everyone else watched their merge with no words. They all understood that sometimes silence was necessary and this seemed like one of those times.

  Seconds became a minute, then Talib sighed as Ife pulled away. They faced their friends and family.

  “Ife’s skill is evolving. She’s been feeling the presence of the missing children. Although their lifeforce’s, like humans, are too weak for us to track, their minds are strong, and they are reaching out into the air for help. Ife has honed in. So far, we know that they are well, they’re alive, but we believe they are being held by someone.”

  “I cannot tell where.” Ife’s quiet voice followed Talib’s deep one. “But I have a link, and if I can do it, I may be able to communicate with them. Not yet, but I believe it is possible. This is so new for me.”

  Shani stepped around Brigitte to join Ife on the couch. Drawing her feet up, she pushed Ife’s bright white hair back with her right hand and rested it on Ife’s knee. Ife leaned toward her. “Perhaps we can merge our talents and I can help boost the connection?”

  With a glance of relief, she took Shani’s left hand with her right. “This is how we’ll accomplish this. Between eleven strong human people, I believe we can do anything we set our hearts to.”

  “Aw, who needs vampires?” Shani teased. Lowering her head, their hands clasped now, she reached for Ife’s mind. Seconds later, they sat unmoving.

  Watching, mesme
rized, the others seated on the couches waited to see if the combined power of an empath and a woman whose talents were yet to be discovered, could give them any leads.

  Looking around, Cairine noticed that Fia was missing. She glanced at Bryson, who had just shoved a handful of potato chips into his mouth, but she couldn’t get his attention. When had Fia left?

  A sigh and loud release of a long-held breath brought the two connected women out of their merge.

  Smiling, Ife looked around, her hands still held by Shani. “We found them. They’re in a warehouse about fifteen miles from here. They’re okay. We can’t see them exactly, but we know they’re in cages.”

  “How awful! What kind of people can do something like that?” Caedmon kept shaking his head.

  Placing a hand on his knee, Eras rubbed the rough denim. “Welcome to the world, my friend.”

  “We need to get them out immediately.” Struggling to stand, Caedmon reached out to Eras, who stood up, pulling his friend with him. “Thank you. When do we go?”

  Silently watching Caedmon struggle to just push off the couch, Cairine wondered how he could possibly trek through the uneven moist ground of the rain forest. The only answer she could come up with was that he couldn’t. How could she convince him to stay here?

  “You know, we need one of us to stay here to communicate with. Caed, you and I have one of the strongest links, we always have. Would you consider…”

  “Stop it, Cari. I plan to go. I’ll be fine.”

  Cairine glanced at Eras. He shrugged and stepped around Caedmon. He shrugged? This was too important for petty gestures. She turned back to her childhood friend. “Caed, can I speak with you for a moment?”

  “You can. What, you mean privately? There’s no reason for that. Anything you have to say can be shared. Anyway, I think we all know what you have to say.”

  Searching the eyes now trained on her, Cairine pulled her hair back with her fingers. “Um, don’t you want to…”

  “No. Cari, say what you mean to say.”

  “This is going to be a challenging hike through tough terrain. I think you should stay here and man communications. I couldn’t bear it if you got hurt.”

  Struggling for a strong step, Caedmon made it over to Cairine. “I’m going to be fine. You have to stop worrying about me. Yes, I have a little trouble walking. I also have nine friends to help me when I need it.”

  After downing a bottle of some kind of beer-colored beverage, Eras wiped his mouth with his hand. “And they’re no ordinary friends. Chill, Cari-girl, we’ve got this.”

  She shot a laser-beam glance at Eras. “You’re incautious, child of the moon. I’ll hold you personally responsible for making sure Caed makes it through without getting hurt.”

  Cairine lifted her head. “Where’s Fia?”

  “Outside. She said the air in here was too stale for her.” Shani had been seated next to Fia and Bryson on the couch.

  “I think I’ll join her.” Cairine glanced once more at Eras, then moved through the doorway.

  Eras watched her go. “That girl has a hard head.”

  “But a heart of gold.” Pausing, Caedmon caught Eras’s attention again. “Do you think she’s right? Am I putting the mission in danger by insisting you guys take me with you?”

  “Nah. I think it will be good for you, and who knows, you might find that you get along better here in the rain forest.”

  Luka came back into the room followed by two taller Totem men. The totems carried rolled packs that looked like maps. “Here’s what we need. This area’s topography and maps. Limited, but usable. Also, another plane just arrived. It dropped off a young woman and flew out of here immediately. Kalia says it’s Crezia from Boston. Wow, you’re all here.”

  “We may need that.” Eras stepped forward. “Talib and Ife have found your children. I mean, we don’t know exactly where they are, but the maps should help us to pinpoint the location. They’re okay, Luka. But someone does have them.”

  “Fuck! I knew it! Who has them? Why?”

  Talib stepped forward. “We couldn’t see who it was, but we were able to reach one of the children. They’re caged, but unharmed. Scared. But they also know that they are not alone and that someone will come for them. They have faith, Luka.”

  With a nod and hand gesture, Luka sent one of the Totem men from the room. “He’ll let the tribe know. Everyone is anxious for news. Thank you for that. Your talents are really impressive, Talib.”

  “It is not I who has the connection, it is Ife.”

  Luka’s eyes widened. “That’s new then, isn’t it Ife?”

  “It is. I’ve spent hours wondering what I was feeling, but it wasn’t until Talib showed me how to access the vision that I knew what it meant. In a few moments, Talib, Shani, and I are going to try to contact them. Do you know if any of the missing children have any telepathic ability?”

  “Kalia’s oldest daughter, Su’ad, has emerging telepathic skills. Dhole, will you get Kalia?” The second Totem man left. “Whoever is going to lead the tracking, come here and take a look at the maps. Talib, you and Ife might want to look too, in case anyplace jumps out at you.”

  Eras, Bryson, Talib, and Ife clustered close as Luka pulled open several maps and spread them on tables near the wall. He pointed near the bottom of the map.

  “Here’s the village, and this is where we are. Out beyond it to the north, there’s nothing but forest. Several trails lead directly into the rain forest, and unfortunately, they don’t extend more than a few thousand feet, then it’s rough going. The ground cover is dense, filled with twisting vegetation, sudden drop-offs, insects, and a wide variety of local animals. Light becomes a challenge in some areas, the canopy so dense, it barely filters through to the ground. In about a dozen places, the land opens up to long, crashing waterfalls. While they don’t rival anything in Zambia, they’re pretty spectacular.”

  Luka lifted his eyes to look at the faces gathered around him. “This terrain is hard, guys, and forgive me, but I know that none of you have ever faced anything like this before. I want to be sure that your skills are up to it if I let you go out. We don’t want to lose any of you, either.”

  “Trust me, Luka, we’re ready for this. Right now, there’s no one else who could get these kids back as safely as we can. But I can see Kalia is right, we’re going to need those survival packs she prepared.” Eras glanced at the heavy backpacks lying just outside the room in a wide hallway. “Just, can you give us all a quick course on survival tactics for a rain forest?”

  It took a few moments for Luka to respond, but he finally nodded and drew everyone back to the couch.

  “I’m not as great an expert as the Totem’s, but I’ve gotten pretty good at dealing with this place. Here’s what I know.”

  The next half hour, Luka poured his knowledge out for the uninitiated young people about to journey well beyond their experience. No one spoke the entire time. No one asked questions. And no one backed out.

  The sun warm on her face, Fia killed the rest of the bottle of ice-cold water she’d taken before she left the big room Luka had taken them to. Everything about this place was different. The sounds, the way the light shone on the ground and in the trees, the odd vegetation, the landscape, the unique supernatural people.

  She’d met Kalia long ago when Luka had brought his mate back to Zambia to visit. The exotic woman who could change her form into that of an Amazonian panther had always fascinated her. Now, all she wanted to do was relax and immerse herself in the experience of life, of new places, new faces, build new memories. When Talib announced that this was attached to the irksome destiny that seemed to plague her life, she had not been happy. Enough with the fight like no other, guardians of the earth, warriors for the world. She just wanted to be simple little Fia, human, and discover all the incredible moments she had always suspected waited beyond that magical barrier that protected her people in Africa. And kept them apart.

  A twig cracked and Fia’s he
ad twisted to see a dark-haired woman making her way carefully through the thick brush. She knew instantly who it had to be. The unmistakable connection that existed through all ten of the children of the moon and the children of the sun, was there with this young woman too. She could feel her latent power.

  “Crezia, I presume,” Fia finally said as the young woman looked up, startled.

  Shaking her long hair back, Crezia surveyed this unexpected very blonde woman perched on a thick branch of a strangely shaped tree.

  “Yes. It’s Zia, though, for simplicity. I…uh, I guess everyone’s expecting me?”

  “Yep.” Fia jumped down, landing easily on booted feet. “I’m Fia, from Africa. Can you feel my energy, my lifeforce? Our power connection? I felt yours right away.”

  Standing stone still, Crezia stared at Fia, and let her eyes slide across the young woman who she had to admit might be the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen. Her hair looked as if the sun itself had colored it, her pastel blue eyes held depth that such a light color shouldn’t hold.

  And yes, she felt something immediately. Oddly, it was similar to the vibrations she felt when her father was near. Pleasant, welcome, it meant family. Love. Of course, she wouldn’t admit that to this virtual stranger.

  “I do. It’s familiar, like an old shoe.”

  Fia laughed. “Like an old shoe. Well, I’ll admit, no one’s ever described me quite like that before.” She threw an arm over Crezia’s shoulder. “We’ll be fast friends, I can tell. Zia, welcome to the crazy world of earthly guardians. Come with me.”

  In that first moment, Crezia wanted to throw Fia’s arm off her, but a second later, it felt good, reassuring, like this unadvised sudden decision wouldn’t be a total clusterfuck that she’d regret forever.

  “So, you’ve never met any of us, is that right?”

  “No. I mean, yes, I’ve never met any of you. My mother is a bit overprotective and would never let me fly over to spend time with you. She’ll have a heart attack once she realizes I’ve gone.”