Caitlin Goddess of Peace

by Debbie Behan

  There were no vampires; in fact nothing much of interest, but even before Caitlin got to the entrance he had snatched her up and was looking around to make sure it was safe. Her giggle got him going, and he laughed with her. ‘I just wanted to show you I can be a bad girl.’ Yet in his arms she became serious. ‘My saviour! You’ll never let me come to any harm now, will you?’

  ‘No – I won’t, but no more testing or being bad from now on, well not until you go home. Then give that boyfriend of your hell for me. The blatzing sly dog gets to laugh like this all the time.’

  He teased, but did he? She saw a serious side as he put her down. Maybe I should come clean and show him I can look after myself… Yet for some reason she enjoyed seeing him so attentive. She guessed by his reactions this was the first time he had actually cared about anyone.

  ‘You really know how to rattle a guy, Glow.’

  ‘Girl!’ She hadn’t finished having fun with him and ran out of the cave and at the bank, kept going and did a racing dive in the water. Aurek followed, and they swam freestyle back to the opposite side. The laughter echoed as they clumsily scampered up the bank and out the water, running and shoving each other until they reached their towels where they dried off.

  ‘Give you girl – you’re the bad girl. For that, you carry the catch all the way home.’

  ‘My pleasure. At least you can’t say I didn’t help and make me starve.’

  They had walked only a few paces when he took the catch off his struggling hunting buddy. She was quiet, and he hated it.

  * * * *

  When they got back, Caitlin poked around the fire after he lit it and kept it from going out while Aurek got the vegetables from the pantry. Once he began preparing the food, she walked over to talk. ‘Where did all these fresh ingredients come from?’ She leant over the bench, munching on a piece of raw carrot.

  ‘Lord Mensa had his chef stock the pantry for us.’ He saw a look of concern. ‘Don’t worry, we have this cabin to ourselves. I told Lord Mensa there was to be a female guest, so doubt we’ll see anyone in this area. He won’t be expecting me to do much hunting either – if you know what I mean.’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘Only way I could get him to leave us alone.’

  Her smile told him all he needed to know. She was happy just to be with him too. He didn’t think he would enjoy this as much with a woman, but so far she had been nothing but a pleasure to spend time with. ‘Here, want to help?’

  She pulled a face and blinked. ‘You’re game. Sure, I’ll give it a go.’ She took the peeler from him and started to take the skin off the potatoes and carrots. While they worked, they shared a bottle of Moonjuice and chatted, with the peeler becoming the butt of most the jokes as she wrestled with it. ‘Stupid thing, I give up.’ She picked up the empty goblets. ‘I’ll pour us another drink.’

  Aurek shook his head. ‘For someone that’s a part of the strongest crack team in the galaxy, girl, you’re hopeless in the kitchen.’

  ‘Hey – if you want me to blow the damned skin off, just ask. Peel it, forget that. My brain doesn’t work that slowly.’

  He shook his head, giving up.

  They ate and, once tucked up in their sleeping bags, Aurek told her hunting stories until they fell asleep in front of the fire.

  * * * *

  In the morning, she stirred in his arms and her annoyed shove woke him. ‘Are you right there, Romeo?’

  ‘Cookies and cream?’ This was his apology as he rolled over and pulled himself up. ‘It got so intense I couldn’t resist you any longer, and when I cuddled into you, it must have been what you needed, because the sweet scent just evaporated into thin air. I experimented and moved away from you, and it happened again. You have some built-in security system. It draws those around you in to protect you – very canny.’

  ‘Oh that! I thought you were coming on to me.’

  ‘Not likely. Not scared of Axon, but scared to death of my Uncle Jett.’ He raised an amused eyebrow.

  ‘I have no idea why it kicked in last night and no clue how to control it yet. Guess you made me feel safe so thank you for that, but I think we will keep it from Jett. I agree, with the two of us alone and sleeping together, you might end up in the Underworld.’ She grinned while putting her socks on.

  ‘Would have been worth it if the redhead was a bit more mischievous but seems I got none, so not worth mentioning.’

  ‘Sod off!’ She pushed at him. ‘The only thing you will feel from me is my wrath, buddy.’

  He lay on his back. ‘Here you go, make me want to hug you and love you to bits. Then in the morning, you just dump me like a discarded old security blanket. Push me away and leave me with hurt feelings that I’m not good enough for you.’ He sounded dejected.

  ‘Aurek, you’re so full of it. As if any woman would ever hurt your feelings. You’ve got enough egos to last ten lifetimes. As for being my security blanket, I promise not to discard you until we leave here. Then I’ll dump your fine arse for someone else, as I always do.’ She rolled around the bedding in hysterics. He tickled her, making her laugh more.

  ‘Little witch. I won’t let you forget me, and you won’t be dumping me for anyone. You’re my girlfriend now, and Jett can buzz off.’

  Aurek checked his watch and stopped fooling about. He pulled her to her feet. ‘Quick– or we won’t make it.’

  He tossed her some warm clothes and a thick jacket and made a flask of coffee while she dressed. Trudging back up the hill Caitlin kept up but wondered why he was so keen to be somewhere this early in the morning. At the top, breathless but glad of the exercise, Caitlin flopped down beside him and took the coffee he handed her.

  ‘I think you’ll like this.’ He pointed to the darkened space before them. Her eyes followed his view.

  Dawn broke and the sunrise shot across the sky. Vibrant colours burst above them. Where the horizon met water; the mirror image threw out a mirage that took on the appearance of a big ball of fire in 3D that soared across the air above. It was as if the sun was right in front of them, but she knew that wasn’t possible. It was a fantastic illusion, and she leant against Aurek, glad he’d dragged her out of bed to share it with her.

  * * * *

  After a long chat, they made their way back down the hill and between the mountains, came to a valley of massive rocks.

  ‘Hey there, come and join me,’ a voice called to them.

  Aurek waved and gave Caitlin an apologetic frown as they headed towards the person who had suddenly disappeared into a cave.

  ‘Who’s your friend?’

  ‘It’s just Lord Mensa. No doubt he has his sights on something. He gets so self-absorbed, it’s a wonder he even noticed us. Guess I can’t be rude. Let’s go say a quick hello and be on our way.’

  At the entrance, the darkness made it hard to see, so Aurek took her hand to lead her inside. Deep inside the cavern, they found Lord Mensa digging around for bugs in the rocks. He glanced for only a second at them before filling up his bag with the bugs he’d collected. As an immortal, he may have been hundreds of years old, but Caitlin thought he looked in his early forties, as intense steel grey eyes peered out from an unruly hairy face. The solid build suggested he kept his physique in tip-top shape and somehow, now facing them, he gave off a vibe that left her feeling at ease around him.

  ‘I am Lord Mensa; and you are?’ He put his hand out to her in a friendly greeting manner.

  ‘Caitlin Warner.’ She stepped towards him and shook his hand, not sure why she used her real name.

  ‘She prefers to be called Glow Girl,’ Aurek added.

  ‘Well, I can certainly see why – for you are just glowing.’

  ‘The fresh air and warm weather are just what I needed.’

  ‘Glad you are enjoying my Home World.’

  She smiled at the kindly gentleman. ‘Yes, I’m having the best time. Au
rek’s has needed a lot of patience teaching me to hunt.’

  ‘And knowing my boy, no doubt there were plenty of entertaining stories.’

  He eyed Aurek. ‘You call him Aurek; remarkable. Good nickname for the lug. I kept telling him to cut those locks off so he can get himself a real woman, but he won’t listen to me. Maybe you can convince him, Glow.’

  ‘First impressions always count, so please excuse me when I disagree. I think the locks make him look hot.’

  Aurek stretched and tilted his nose up. ‘The girl’s got good taste.’

  Lord Mensa scoffed and laughed. ‘Honesty is refreshing and very rare these days but a little misplaced on him.’ He threw the hunting bag over his shoulder and picked up a rifle.

  ‘Where are you heading?’ Aurek asked.

  ‘I’m going down the valley to the South Mountain. I want to see if I can track that big begrizzo we went after the last visit. He’s been harassing the townsfolk, killing the stock.’

  Caitlin didn’t miss the show of disappointment in Aurek. ‘I take it you mean a grizzly bear?’

  ‘Yes, and I can tell you’re not from these parts. Earth roots?’ Lord Mensa questioned.

  ‘She spent some years there studying.’ Aurek told him a little white lie to cover up she was actually from there, although Caitlin wasn’t sure why. He was a good friend. Secrets weren’t usually kept from mates.

  Caitlin agreed, and nothing more was said. But she could feel the adrenaline rush coming from Aurek once he heard what Lord Mensa was going after. To hunt something so dangerous and significant, he would be in his element. Caitlin slipped her arm through his. ‘We’d like company if you don’t mind ours. I’m sure you wouldn’t knock back the offer of a couple of extra hands to help trap that old bear.’ She felt Aurek squeeze into her, excitedly, showing he could think of nothing better than to join in the hunt.

  ‘Sure!’ Lord Mensa’s optimistic look was no surprise to, Caitlin. She had guessed he was about to invite them anyway. She eyed him. There was something astute about him, maybe he had even planned to be here to catch up with Aurek and get his help. He would surely know Aurek would take me to see the sunrise this morning to begin our second day.

  ‘If we leave now, we can be in big rock canyon by mid-morning.’ Lord Mensa took the lead up a path leading away from the rocky terrain. Here they passed a cobblestone path that took them to an old brick cottage.

  Caitlin had always loved the character of buildings, and this charming little café had it all. It was surrounded by delicate leafy trees, vivid floral natives, and positioned within this setting were animal-shaped chairs and tables with claw legs. A kindly elderly woman, complete with a frilled apron and hat, waited on patrons and waved as they passed.

  ‘I always thought when men talked about camping it meant roughing it in the bush. You know – with bugs and spiders crawling all over you, freezing at night and eating maggots from a tree when you all got so drunk you couldn’t shoot straight enough to catch anything. Yet here I am, sleeping in a log cabin with a fire and passing cafés in the middle of nowhere, an endorsement of how many hunters go home with full bellies but empty-handed.’

  Aurek gulped and stumbled over words as he tried to give her an answer.

  She put her hand up. ‘It’s time to admit it’s all make-believe, a con of adversity to keep us women at home.’ She laughed at their shocked expressions. ‘I’m right aren’t I?’

  Aurek composed himself. ‘Look here, young lady, you ever tell anyone our secret, and you’re in big trouble.’ His tone serious.

  ‘Bully!’ She grinned. ‘You are so going down when I find you a girlfriend.’

  ‘You are my girlfriend.’

  ‘Tell Wolf that to his face.’

  ‘He’s just your fiancé, not going to argue with the man, just stealing you from Jett.’

  Lord Mensa slowed to talk. ‘Okay! This is getting hard to follow. I thought you two were an item. Who are these other two?’

  ‘Don’t even try to work it out, buddy; she has a string of us bowing at her feet. I’m just evening out the playing field and telling her how it is. I figure I have a couple more days to brainwash her before I take her back, and that should just about do it.’ Aurek eyed her devotedly.

  ‘In your dreams, sugar!’

  ‘See what I go through? She has me jumping through hoops for her, and all I get is attitude.’

  ‘You sound like an old married couple.’ Lord Mensa walked to his left to miss fresh cow dung.

  ‘No fun Lord,’ she said and nudged Aurek.

  ‘Do you two ever shut up?’ He picked up the pace and ignored them. Both turned on him instead of each other.

  A little way up a muddy path he stopped for a second and turned to them. ‘I wish I had never tried to break you two up. Please, feel free to go back to rubbishing each other again.’

  ‘No way, you make us laugh more.’ Caitlin ruffled his hair as they scooted past him.

  ‘You won’t beat her, buddy, so you know what they say,’ Aurek said.

  ‘Can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.’ Lord Mensa finished the cliché.

  ‘Yep! And if we don’t hurry up and get in the lead, she’s going to go in the wrong direction, and there will be another half hour of bantering with her before we move on.’

  Lord Mensa held Aurek back for a second. ‘I like your friend – a lot.’

  ‘Me too,’ Aurek agreed but thought it strange of him to say so soon after meeting her, and she didn’t even have her cookie fragrance turned up. He moved quickly into the lead to get them to the canyon where they thought the bear hid. The less time she spent with his friend, the better. Didn’t want him tagging along once they left him to go back to the cabin. It was his time with Caitlin; there was not going to be any competition hanging about if he had his way. But much to his displeasure, Lord Mensa hung back with Caitlin and chatted to her the rest of the way. Mad as hell, he stomped ahead.

  Her wit and yet innocence to pause and touch everything along the path had Lord Mensa intrigued. Caitlin had stopped again to admire boulders and massive trees which lined the edges of a riverbank. Here, water as clear as glass ran over the rocks and her fascination was with the small, rainbow-coloured fish, which fought the current as they swam upstream. While he watched her shoo away some wildlife that were poised and ready to eat them, he heard a sound and realised they were where he wanted them to be.

  ‘This is it,’ he called out to Aurek who had missed the mark. He was way ahead of them. ‘You with us still, sport?’ That boy’s not concentrating at all. He shook his head. Never does when there’s a girl around.

  Once Aurek had joined them, Lord Mensa pulled out the little bag of bugs he’d picked up from the cave and held them up. ‘Bait, a bear’s delicacy. They’re like an oyster is to us.’

  ‘Yuk, if they taste like oysters it’ll make the begrizzo run a mile.’ She shuddered.

  ‘Glow, I can’t believe you don’t like oysters. Have you tried them Kilpatrick?’ Aurek asked.

  ‘I’ve never attempted to eat them any which way. I reckon they’d taste like salty slime.’ She blinked and pulled a child-like face as if served a lemon.

  Lord Mensa held back hysteria and winked at Aurek. ‘To be a good hunter you have to go through an initiation and eat at least half a dozen oysters, or you are never taken again, isn’t that right, sport.’

  Aurek nodded. ‘My oath, that’s the rule.’

  ‘You’re both having a lend of me. No way, that’s disgusting. I couldn’t imagine anything worse… Yuk!’ Her tongue poked out and nose screwed up.

  They both laughed at her reaction.

  ‘How about you guys eat the slimy shelled crustaceans since you like them so much and as my initiation, I’ll catch your furry menace for you?’

  ‘That, I would like to see,’ said Lord Mensa.

 
‘I wouldn’t encourage her if I were you. She’s gutsier than that begrizzo,’ Aurek remarked.

  Lord Mensa scoffed and put his arm around her. ‘What – this little soft soul. Take down such a beast, you sure?’

  Aurek shrugged. ‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you.’

  They picked up the trail and upon finding the beast, energy levels spiked when they thought they had it cornered, but each time it managed to find a hiding spot by the time the guns were cocked, and they’d miss. Caitlin decided you needed a lot of patience for a sport such as hunting and hers was slowly running out.

  It was late afternoon and the light had faded before they cornered the begrizzo again. Without warning the beast lunged at the three of them, knocked Lord Mensa over and headed for Aurek. He fired a shot into the animal, but unfortunately, the bullet didn’t hit its target, and the snorting hefty lug of fur continued on its path.

  With no other thought but to save her friend, Caitlin shot her hand up and let out a stream of power. The beam zapped the beast and stunned it. The bear wobbled before falling to the ground. Aurek fired another shot, and by then Lord Mensa had fired into the begrizzo as well, and both their shots finished him off.

  Aurek and Lord Mensa slapped hands and jogged towards the bear, excited they had brought it down.

  ‘Come with me and help butcher this beast.’ Lord Mensa pulled out a big knife and made sure it was dead before he transported the animal from their sight.

  She stood thinking of how excited Rory and the boys would have been if they were here.

  Aurek was full of beans. ‘Did you hear him? He just invited us back to the castle to help break up the carcass and stay the night. I know the butchering is not something you would enjoy, but after that, you would get to have a decent meal and sleep in a real bed tonight. But if you prefer not to go it’s okay, I’m happy either way.’ He did want Caitlin all to himself but this was a big deal, bringing down a begrizzo. The bragging rights and slicing it up was a hunters’ ritual but he would leave it up to her. She was his first priority.