by Basia Pike
He laughed at Tom’s reaction. “Don’t worry, I’m one of the good guys.”
“Yes, he is.” I placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Do you know where we can find the Kugarar?” Tom asked.
“We believe their base is in the nearby city of Rochester. There’s something drawing them here, but we’re not sure what.”
“We can count on ya to help us?” Tom asked.
“I can’t fight. Our laws won’t allow us to fight humans, but I’ll give you as much intel as possible.”
“That’s all we need. How far is Rochester?” I asked.
“It’s about a half an hour ride at a steady pace.”
“A group of us will take a ride, then.”
“I’ll come with you as a guide,” Jamie said.
“Who will go with you?” Luciana asked.
“Luciana, Julius, and Tom will come. Deon, Mary, Josh and Casey will set up base.” Deon’s face dropped at hearing he was being left behind.
I patted him on the shoulder. It’s not like I could take everyone. “Cheer up. You’ll get your chance,” I said.
We headed out, following Jamie, who led us to the stables where five horses were tacked and ready.
“Damn it!” Tom exclaimed. I looked at him. “I was looking forward to tacking my own horse.”
“Sorry, the servants always tack the horses,” Jamie said, and Tom shook his head.
Jamie grabbed the reins of his horse. A huge white stead which he mounted easily. Everyone else grabbed the reigns of a horse and mounted them effortlessly. I grabbed the reins of the nearest large brown horse in front of me and mounted it, looking a fool compared to the rest of the group. We headed southeast on a dirt road.
I rode next to Tom, who was in his element. “I’ve missed this,” Tom said.
I laughed. “What, riding a horse?”
“Yeah, the freedom of gettin’ on a horse and going wherever ya want.”
“Dallas was the second time I’d rode a horse, and I’d hoped my last.”
Tom shook his head and spurred his horse into a canter, passing Jamie.
“Tom, stay in line!” Jamie shouted after him.
He looked back, laughing, before turning his horse and returning to his position. “What’s the plan, then?” Tom asked.
“Go to Rochester and check it out. See if we can find out anything from Jamie’s contacts there.”
Tom nodded, and he reduced his voice to just above a whisper. “Are ya sure we can trust a werewolf?”
“I can hear you, you know?” Jamie asked.
“What the hell! How can ya hear me? I was whispering,” Tom asked.
“I’m a werewolf. I have sensitive hearing.”
“God Damn it.” He went silent, and I could hear Luciana and Julius speaking at the back.
After about twenty minutes riding the city came into view.
“Let’s leave the horses here and go on foot into the town,” Jamie said, jumping down, tying his horse to a post. We did the same and followed him towards the city gates.
Jamie turned to me. “We will meet my friend in the inn.”
The smell of the city was foul. People walked around in dirty clothes, begging. At least here, in England, I recognized the language, save for some archaic words they used. Jamie stopped outside an inn called The Three Moons.
“I assume it’s run by your kind?” I asked, noticing the name.
Jamie nodded. “Elijah and Luciana, you come in with me. Julius and Tom, you should see what you can hear in the other inn. The King’s Head is around the corner.”
Julius didn’t look too pleased about being separated from his wife, but she reassured him, placing a hand against his face and a quick kiss to his lips.
“What we listening for?” Tom asked.
“Any mention of the Creaturae or the Kugarar. It will be obvious if they’re talking about anything to do with the Kugarar. You have coin on you?” Jamie asked Tom, and he nodded.
“We’ll reconvene here in about an hour’s time,” I said. “Any problems you can communicate through the earpieces. Press your ear and speak.”
Tom and Julius nodded before heading off around the corner and out of sight.
“Come on, then,” Jamie said, and we entered the dark and dingy inn, where we followed Jamie to the bar. He asked for three ales and paid.
The bar was crowded. I noticed several men and women with werewolf tattoos on their arms. We sat down in a corner with our drinks.
“Where’s your friend, then?” I asked.
“He’ll be here soon,” Jamie said. Silence fell between us as we waited. About twenty minutes passed before a man sat down at the table and offered me his hand.
“Bleddyn at your service.” I took his hand and shook it. He offered his hand to Luciana also, and then Jamie.
“Nice to meet you. You’ve got some information for us?” I asked.
“Yes, however, it’s too public here to tell you. You and Jamie only must meet me at my house tomorrow morning at dawn.” He took off as fast as he arrived, leaving me scowling.
Luciana was staring after him. “Well, that was odd.”
“That’s Bleddyn. He’s always paranoid and doesn’t stay in one place longer than needed.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “That’s what we came all this way for?”
Luciana looked as puzzled as I felt.
“I’m sorry. He is a bit mad to be honest.”
I took a sip of the strong ale in my tankard, grimacing a little. Luciana, however, was knocking it back.
“As you have better hearing than us, is there anything interesting going on in here?” I asked, hoping our journey wasn’t a complete waste.
“I’m listening to a man on the other side of the inn.”
I sighed and tried to drink more of the foul-tasting ale before giving up and handing it to Luciana.
“You don’t want it?” she asked, and I shook my head.
“Okay, I’ve heard all I need to hear,” Jamie said, grabbing his tankard and downing the rest. Luciana did the same with the rest of my drink, and we headed out of the inn.
“What did you hear?” I asked.
Jamie shook his head. “Let’s meet your friends in the King’s Head.” With that, Jamie led the way.
It was a larger pub with sash windows at the front. Tom sat with Julius in the window booth. We walked through the door and went to join them. Jamie headed to the bar to get more drinks.
“Finished at the Three Moons?” Tom asked, and I nodded. “Did you find out anything?”
“Maybe. We’ll talk about it later. How about you?”
“We didn’t hear anything, but maybe he will.” Tom nodded at Jamie.
“Let’s have a drink and we will head back,” I said.
Jamie brought over three small tankards of ale. I sniffed mine and then took a sip. It wasn’t as bad as the last one, but it wasn’t great.
Luciana nudged me in the ribs. “Get it down.” She laughed. I was glad that slowly she was becoming more friendly with me.
“Any supernaturals involved in this inn?” Tom asked.
“Of course not. I would not set foot in an inn run by witches or vampires.”
“Why not?” Tom asked.
Jamie’s brow furrowed. “You don’t know the story?”
“He does, but perhaps he wasn’t listening,” I said,
“Witches, werewolves, and vampires have been at war for centuries,” Jamie said.
“Sorry,” Tom said, looking down at his tankard. Silence fell between us as we drank our drinks.
A fight broke out at the table next to us and one man threw the other into ours, spilling our drinks.
Tom stood up. “What the hell.” His fists clenched into balls.
“Sorry!” the man said, before being pulled up from the floor by the other.
“Let’s get out of here,” Jamie said. We dodged around the brawling men and out of the inn. We had almost reached the gates
out of the city when a vampire with red eyes appeared in our path. His sword tip inches from Jamie’s chest.
“Can I help you?” Jamie asked.
The man sneered at him. “Don’t play dumb. I know you and your friends here have been spying on us.”
“I have never seen you before, so that seems unlikely.”
The man glared at him. “Don’t lie, wolf! He pushed the tip of his sword into Jamie’s chest, cutting his tunic and drawing blood.
It was Luciana who made a move. Like a flash of lighting she kicked the sword out of his hand, then Julius moved forward to restrain him.
He was too quick and easily escaped his grip, swiping his leg across the floor and taking Julius out. Jamie stepped forward and attempted to punch him, but this vampire was quick. He rolled across the floor and grabbed his sword rolling back onto his feet and swinging it at Tom.
Tom ducked, but the cut came so close that it cut some of his hair off his head. That could have been fatal. Tom caught him off guard and managed to connect his fist with his face. He forced the man to drop his sword, and kicked it out of his reach.
I ran towards him and readied myself to punch him in the face. But, his fangs protruded from his mouth and he sunk his teeth into my neck. He sucked my blood, and I could feel myself going woozy. A scream of pain escaped the man and his fangs retracted quickly.
He stared at me in shock. I had read up on it since the vampire in Athens, and apparently witches blood was like poison to vampires. He crawled away across the floor coughing and spluttering. I glanced at the rest of the team who were looking on in shock.
The vampire pushed himself to his feet and ran away like a shot of lightning. Tom was ready to go after him.
I grabbed his arm tightly. “It’s not worth it.” Tom glanced at me, anger burning in his eyes. He searched my eyes; his shoulders dipped and he gave a small nod.
“Let’s go,” Jamie said, marching out of the gates.
The horses seemed restless when we reached them. We mounted them quickly and broke into a gallop away from Rochester.
“We need to make sure we’re not followed,” Jamie said to me over the rhythm of thumping hooves.
I glanced behind us.“Who was that vampire?”
“Never seen him before. It’s likely he heard something we said. Vampires senses are second to none.”
Vampire’s senses were second to none, but, we’d been careful not to say anything out of the ordinary. A dread bubbled up inside of me as we galloped back to Farncombe at speed.
21
It was still dark outside when I headed down into the hall.
Jamie was already waiting for me. He stood as he noticed me. “Morning, Elijah.”
“Good morning.”
“Ready to go?” Jamie asked.
“Yes, Bleddyn said to meet him at dawn at his house. Is that back in Rochester?”
“No, he lives only a mile from here. It’ll take us ten minutes on horseback.”
I dreaded the thought of getting back onto a horse, but before I knew it I was mounted on one.
“Did you tell the rest of the Verndarar?” Jamie asked.
“No, I didn’t see the need. Bleddyn made it clear just you and I could come.”
Jamie raised an eyebrow but didn’t press the matter. “How do you find being the leader of such an important group?” he asked, making conversation as we trotted along the path.
“I’m enjoying it, although I feel out of my depth at times.”
“You’ve not told any of them you’re a witch?” Jamie asked.
“No, but Luciana knows. She detected it the moment we met apparently. She’s promised not to tell the rest of the group and I intend to keep it like that. I don’t want to bring up any questions about my past. It’s easier this way.”
Jamie looked serious. “I’m sorry about what happened to your wife.”
“How do you know about it? You’re not from my time.”
“We wolves travel-time quite a lot with Andre’s help, and it’s something we have become aware of. In the years after her death, it is well known amongst our community.”
“Do you know where I can locate those behind it?” I asked.
“I’m sorry to say I wouldn’t know.” He looked as though he had more to say.
“Andre mentioned I would be able to use time-travel to get my revenge if I joined the Verndarar. That is the only reason I agreed.” Jamie bit his lip. “What else do you know?”
“I know that whoever was behind it was targeting your unborn child … They had foreseen she would have the ability to unite all the races.” My entire body froze. She? I’d tried not to think too much about the baby I never met, and not knowing the gender made it easier. Jamie had reiterated the warning my father had given me. If only I’d listened to him.
“Did I say something wrong?” he asked, and I shook my head, swallowing the lump in my throat. I was gripping my reins so tight I pulled my horse to a stop. “Are you okay?” Jamie asked, stopping as well.
“Yes, sorry … I haven’t spoken to anyone about it since…”
Jamie nodded and rested a hand on my shoulder. “It’s tough losing people you love. I know, but … we must be strong for them, as they are always with us.” Tears filled my eyes. “Shall we? We’re almost there.”
I glanced at the sun coming up above the hill and spurred my horse on into a trot. We veered off the road into the forest, and within a minute came to a house in the woods, smoke rising from the chimney stack.
“Here we are.” Jamie jumped down from his horse, tied it to a nearby tree, hopped up the steps and knocked the door loudly.
A flap in the door opened and Bleddyn looked out before unbolting the door. “You’re late!” he exclaimed as he stepped aside.
“I wouldn’t say so! The sun’s not up yet,” Jamie said, shaking his hand.
Bleddyn shook his head in irritation. “Come on, have a seat,” he said, signaling at the small table and chairs in the little room. “You want a glass of mead?” he asked, and Jamie nodded. I lifted my eyebrow, looking at Jamie, and he laughed.
“Too early for you?” Jamie asked. He placed three tankards on the table and poured a cloudy light liquid into the tankards.
“Cheers,” Jamie said, lifting the tankard in the air.
“Cheers…” I braced myself for an unpleasant taste, but was surprised when it had an almost sweet taste. Bleddyn sat down and chugged his entire tankard in one.
Damn, I thought I had an alcohol problem!
Bleddyn glanced around as if checking no one was listening. “I’ve asked you here today because I know the descendant of the last known keeper of the Creaturae.”
“What? Why didn’t you say something before?” Jamie asked. I could detect irritation in his voice.
“I had to tell Andre or his team, and no one else.”
“Why?” I asked.
“You’re the only ones that can protect her from the Kugarar.”
“Who is it?” Jamie asked.
Bleddyn hesitated his eyes lingering on his tankard.“It’s Dakota.”
Jamie’s face dropped.
“Who’s Dakota?” I asked.
Bleddyn glanced at Jame. “She’s one of us.” He seemed nervous from way he looked at Jamie. “A werewolf, but about two years ago she fraternized with the witches.”
“Why are you both acting so weird?”
“Dakota and Jamie used to be together until she took off,” Bleddyn explained.
Jamie’s hand whitened as he gripped his tankard handle. “Trying to get her to listen to you will be impossible,” he said through clenched teeth.
“We both know that. That is why I didn’t tell you until we had an independent group of people to approach her.”
Jamie was still gripping his tankard with fervor.
“Why did she take off to stay with witches?” I asked. It sounded a bit curious considering witches and werewolves on the whole didn’t get on.
Bleddy
n glanced at Jamie. “She, and Jamie were due to get married. The night before the wedding she fled to seek help from the witches.”
I shook my head. “Why didn’t she call of the wedding?”
Jamie slammed his fist into the table. “It’s because she was embarrassed. She didn’t want to admit that she didn’t want to be next in line to ascend the throne with me.” The anger in his voice was evident.
I frowned. “Jamie, are you okay?” I asked.
He looked up, loosening his grip on his tankard. “Yes, I’m fine,” he replied, taking a drink.
“It will be dangerous, as you will have to travel to Canterbury. It’s run by the witches. They might see you coming and think you intend to harm Dakota. It won’t be easy to get to her.”
“How do you know she is a descendant of the protectors?” I asked.
Bleddyn stood up and went toward a counter on the other side of the room. “Dakota Lyall is from a bloodline that leads all the way back to the Cureliva family.” He walked back and placed a book down, with a family tree on the page leading to Dakota Lyall. “I researched where the Lyall name came from. It was her great, great, great grandmother’s name, who gave birth to a child after falling for a man named Jason Cureliva.” He paused and gave me an odd look. “After realizing what a brutal man he was, it’s believed she fled with the Creaturae and took back her maiden name.”
I was surprised how much he knew, considering it wasn’t like he could go look it up at a government building. Jamie remained silent.
“We will need to go soon. Is it possible the Kugarar have pieced this together?”
“Possible, but unlikely. Only wolves have access to our family histories, and they shouldn’t have seen this. However, they may be here because they know Elaina Cureliva fled to Kent with the Creaturae. There is no time to lose. You must take your team to Canterbury today.”
I nodded and stood. “Okay, thank you for your help.”
Bleddyn handed me the book. “Take this with you. It may help you explain everything to her.”
Jamie still hadn’t spoken.
“Shall we?” I asked. Jamie looked a little dazed, but he stood. “Thank you, Bleddyn. I’ll see you again, I’m sure,” I said, before heading out the door.
Jamie said nothing other than nodding. Once out of the house I turned to him. “Are you sure you’re alright?” I asked, looking at his vacant expression.