by Debbie Behan
He flared, temper sliced back at her. ‘Suit yourself, your funeral… Did you just chuckle?’ He couldn’t believe she had no fear of him.
‘Look, Orion, I know your manhood is feeling bruised, but this is what I do. I’m a peacekeeper and do not intend to hide. If I run from this, he will follow, seek me out, and that can get messy for all those around me. We’re in a prime location where no civilian can be hurt. Trust me – work with me – please. Just find out why he feels this is necessary so I can work out a solution.’ She smiled reassuringly. ‘I didn’t do that bad of a job during my negotiations with you– did I?’
He smirked. ‘You railroaded me and had me in a spin. I would have given you my whole flipping empire in the end if you had asked for it.’
Caitlin’s eyes lit up happily. ‘Orion, I do believe you’re funnier than Aurek, so you can stay for now.’ The lightness ended abruptly as Lord Mensa transported into the room, a guard each side of him. They were the darkly tanned muscle men she’d met in the barn, the previous night. The guards were so tall they bent over slightly to see her. She jumped at the sound of the shotgun being loaded and cocked, now pointed towards her and Orion. She felt the weakening of her powers immediately on their entry and squeezed Blondie’s hand, feeling better when they returned. She rebooted the power needed and readied her energy for whatever lay ahead.
She could feel Orion’s rage go through her, fuming that he had a gun shoved in his face. As it grew, she could feel the dark side of his nature come out fully, and Orion now stood beside her, angry and almost out of control.
‘Are you frigging kidding me? Are you seriously thinking about killing me over a female?’ Orion yelled at him.
‘Logic is not one of my finer points.’ Lord Mensa was shaken but kept calm.
‘Bullshit! We’re mates. What are you thinking man? Get those guns out of our faces, or I swear I’ll wipe the blatzing floor with you and your goons… Lay them down now!’ His temper exploded; the sound of his tone was venomous and ear piercing.
It was so loud and the vibration so painful, Caitlin put both hands up to her ears.
‘You can yell all you want, but Caitlin stays!’ Lord Mensa spoke with vicious intent.
‘Then be prepared to fight.’ Orion’s growl lowered yet was just as intense. He shook with rage, and Caitlin knew if she didn’t defuse this situation soon, he would pounce, and she would be unable to hold such a force.
It aggravated Lord Mensa even more; his face reddened, the vein in his neck pulsing rapidly. ‘Move away from her pal…I’m not joking... I-will-shoot-you! I’m giving you one chance and one chance only to walk away. Leave the female, and I will ignore that outburst and our agreement for hunting will continue to stand. Fight me on this, and you’ll be the loser. I have you surrounded. ‘Outside…’ Lord Mensa yelled and pointed, ‘are my army who hold infra-red automatic weapons, and these are pointed at you, Orion! My order is to shoot if you move a muscle towards me, and that goes for you too, donkey man.’
Caitlin was calm as she viewed Lord Mensa. ‘So the huntress becomes the hunted.’ She could feel Orion’s stress for getting her into this mess. Lord Mensa’s eyes burned into her, the threatening glare of a dominant conqueror.
Caitlin stood firm.
Lord Mensa intended to win without confrontation. He had thought of every scenario, but not this and it infuriated him she was acting as if having a gun pointed at her was normal. Who is this person?
Caitlin could read his expressive eyes. ‘You have no idea who I am, do you?’
‘I don’t care who you are as from this day forward, I will title you with a new name, and you will live here on Mensa for evermore. As for prior family and friends, yes they will grieve your loss, it’s only natural, but I’m sure not for long. You don’t seem very handy to have around, other than your gifts.’ His voice was deadly and threatening while making every effort to break her cockiness and scare her.
‘If your intent is to have me all to yourself, I at least deserve to know why.’ The reasoning quality of her tone amazed Orion as he almost swayed to the sugar sweet pitch.
It riled up Lord Mensa further and what was even more frustrating to him was that he hadn’t yet ruffled her feathers. He scowled. ‘I’ve searched the galaxy for a powerful goddess such as you. My aim always has been to take over Taurus. That delicious beef will be mine and you, young lady, are going to help me get it. That power of yours I can feel. You are beyond all I have met. I am about to have my biggest wish granted.’
His confession stunned her but not her new and loyal comrade next to her. ‘Over my dead body will you put one filthy paw on her!’ Orion yelled at him, but Caitlin held him firm with her power so he couldn’t lunge.
‘That, my old friend, is your choice. This was once your dream as well, but I can already see whose side you have chosen. Kill you I will if that is your wish. She has every quality I’ve ever dreamed of and more. She will be mine, Orion. Oh, and before I kill you, I must thank you for bringing her to me, fancy that, putting her right into my hands. You could have run, but you stayed, that was your first mistake. The second will be if you move.’
‘She is a Cosmic Rider, you idiot. You’ll never get away with it,’ Orion snapped. ‘They’ll wipe your blatzing Home World off the map when we don’t return, you cynical old fool.’
‘You know hunting accidents can be so terrible.’ He tut-tutted. ‘I’m sure if I placed your clothing from yesterday with the blood all over them, nice touch, by the way, scattered about it will convince them it was that big black begrizzo I caught that was the demise of you both.’
Caitlin squeezed Orion’s hand to let him know she had this and to calm him down. She felt him slightly relax and now controlled again, continued in her own defence.
‘I was never lucky enough to have a father, but last night, I loved you as one. You made me feel happy as I sat beside you, having you so proud of me I felt blessed. The way you honoured me in front of your friends and family made me want you in my life for many years to come. How sad for me that you were only thinking about turning me into one of your slaves that would jump at your command. And if I remember correctly, you were even referring to us as your kids.’
‘Stop it! You’re twisting it. Last night I was drunk and having fun with you both. It was this morning in the kitchen that your powers became apparent to me. I am smarter than you think and surprise, surprise, I noticed you had the hum of goddess-like powers. Now I find I can’t have you leave. Although heaven knows why… you sound a right royal pain.’ He folded his arms, satisfied he had this in the bag, and it was going to be an easy win.
‘Oh really?’ Her eyebrows went up.
‘Oh yes, my dear girl. You might have those standing beside you conned, but I see right through you. The gods have sent you to me to give me what I crave. Taurus is all I have ever wanted.’
‘No! You have wanted something more, be honest,’ Caitlin snapped.
He stretched his neck from side to side. Real emotion kept him quiet.
As soon as Caitlin said the words it sent a dagger to his heart. ‘What about your daughter, the one you never saw grow up? The one that maybe should be my age now, but who never survived? Is she who you see, when you look at me? The reason you’re not thinking straight right now?’
‘You’re guessing and clutching at straws. You don’t know anything about me!’ he snarled. His brows were squeezed so tight, his eyes were slits.
‘Then tell me about you. Because from where I’m standing, for someone of your calibre to even think of hurting your best friend and destroying my life, man, you have got to be in a world of hurt.’
Rage shook his body with her insolence. He would make her pay for this later. There had been enough talk and he was sick of hearing her twist the outcome to benefit them. His arms went up, ‘Take her! Kill the other two!’ he ordered.
Caitlin c
losed her eyes, and could sense the fingers on the triggers that hesitated before doing as commanded. They weren’t bulletproof; neither could she shield the two men that flanked her. These were the ones now targeted, and her heart pumped as she worried she had made a huge error in judgement. It was too late to release Orion so he could transport them out. The fingers had started to squeeze the triggers, but Caitlin was optimistic she could put a stop to this onslaught and end it peacefully. Calm yourself, she recalled Kayden’s teachings. The answer is controlling the situation first. If it can’t be, remove and destroy. Take no chances or prisoners. Her focus was now on every firearm that surrounded them, aware the triggers were being pulled. It was too late to stop the powerful emissions that threatened to cut her two friends to pieces. Drawing extra power from the hands she held, Caitlin snatched the guns from all who held them and faced the offending weaponry to the sky. The fire power now well above them hit a central position above the cabin, and on impact, the explosion was massive and thankfully the strong roof protected them from the sparks and flames of the aftermath. The army, however, had no cover and were blown metres back. With a glance out the window and listening for heartbeats, Caitlin saw they were mostly unconscious but alive.
Her mind now went to the two guards inside. They too met the full force of her power and were flung backwards, slamming hard against the wall. Stripped of their weaponry the blow had knocked them unconscious. She took the entire army of guns collected up in the air with the power of her internal sorcery. Way above and now at what she hoped was a harmless distance, Caitlin sent up a flash and blew the weaponry to pieces. The power of the explosion was not only deafening, but the force of it shook the cabin; trees cracked and fell over, and even part of the veranda wall crumbled. She could have taken them up higher, but wanted some theatrics. Maybe not so much as this though; she hoped no one was hurt. Her friends and the tyrant in front of Caitlin, she held fast, not allowing harm to Lord Mensa, yet.
‘Wholly blatzing shytzer!’ Blondie’s eyes were wide.
She didn’t know who looked shocked the most, Orion or Lord Mensa. ‘Now!’ she said calmly. ‘Do you want me to let Orion here go, and you can sort it out between yourselves, or are you ready to discuss this like an adult?’
Lord Mensa was motionless, shaken. He had not expected what she was capable of. His frame weakened to let her know he was giving up. He sat worriedly in the chair at the table, lost in turmoil.
Aurek stood calmly beside her. Orion was gone, and it was only now she trusted him to help out. ‘Okay Aurek, you’re up. Go talk to him. I need to know he won’t come after me.’ She spoke quietly to him, but upon releasing him, she saw he had tricked her. It was Orion who jerked away from her. His fists shot out as he laid a punch into Lord Mensa’s jaw, knocking him and the chair over. He pulled him up roughly and slammed him into the wall. It cracked with the forceful shove, and blood oozed from the corner of Lord Mensa’s mouth and nose as he was punched more. On the fourth blow, Orion slammed his fist into the wall. The hole almost punched through to the other side.
‘You’re just lucky Glow’s here with me, and I don’t want her to see me so wildly out of control. If she hadn’t held me back, you’d be the one taking a little visit to the Underworld, mate. I can’t believe after all these years you would turn out to be such a selfish prick!’ he roared. ‘I should kill you right here, right now, for what you’ve just attempted.’ With a swift toss, he threw the older man back into one of the other chairs near. ‘Rot in hell, I don’t care what she does to you.’ He stomped back to Caitlin, his rage controlled so as not to frighten her, wishing he hadn’t even gone that far. She’d asked him to talk, but for now, he just wanted to hit Lord Mensa instead. It would be best if he calmed down first, for her.
Caitlin went over to the table and sat with the crumpled figure. He straightened, put an elbow on the table and leant his head on his fist, defeated. She pulled up her legs and wrapped her arms around them, her gaze glued to him as she waited for him to speak. He had a lot of explaining to do. She certainly wasn’t about to let him go until they sorted this out.
He felt her eyes burn into his, and his head inclined, embarrassed. At that moment his guards came to and, helping each other up, stared at Lord Mensa.
‘My Lord, what happened to you?’ They waited for what they should do next, but without weapons, it was all about fists and with them clenched they looked more than ready.
Lord Mensa waved his hand. ‘Get out of here, go back to the castle and take your useless royal army with you.’ He was done, had lost the fight, and with Glow Girl’s powers he knew he had no hope of winning this battle, ever. He turned to Glow Girl. ‘How did you know? I mean about my daughter?’ he asked so quietly she could hardly hear him.
‘From the mural in the room we stayed in. The little girl had green eyes exactly the same as mine and yet when we went for dinner, she was nowhere to be seen, even as the depicted teenager. A guest that had known you for years didn’t know who I spoke of either. Someone so adored would be by your side or known to your friend. I guess I just put two and two together. There was no magic needed to work that out.’
‘You were right. I lost my daughter in the early years, just after that first image. I instructed the artist to give me a likeness of what she might look like years later in the hopes I would recognise her when I found her. I’ve grieved for her for so many years and yesterday when I looked into your eyes, I saw her again. Then when you left this morning, it ripped my heart out all over again, as if I just lost her for a second time.’ His grief was real; she didn’t have to look at him to feel his misery.
‘Why didn’t you come and talk to me and tell me how you felt? Maybe if you knew how I felt about you too, it might have made it easier somehow. We could have worked through it together without all this unnecessary fuss about Taurus.’
‘I just couldn’t let you leave. I actually figured that it must have been more than just you, it had to be something you could give me. I was confused and didn’t understand my emotions. I nearly crumbled into a big mess when you spoke of my daughter. I had not thought of that at all. I realised it might have been the reason but I had gone crazy, and it was too late, I had got into a mess and didn’t know how to dig my way out.’
‘You could have said, “Sorry, I mucked up!”’
‘I freaked out that you would leave here angry, that I’d never see you again so thought, hell, I’m in this deep, take the girl and run. I just wanted my look-alike daughter back and wanted my pain to stop.’
‘I would have hated you.’
‘Anything was better than just letting you go. I miss my daughter so.’ Lord Mensa’s face was wet with hatred for using such severe actions to win and yet his strained features were frustrated and hurt with the blow of losing her.
Caitlin pulled out a lace hanky and dabbed the blood that dribbled down his chin. ‘Growing up I was told my mother died at birth and my father was on the run. I’ve grieved all my life for a father I never had, and you, for a daughter you never got to see grow up. Fate throws us together, and it’s destroyed, gone, in mere minutes. It sounds such a waste.’
She stood up and put out her hand to him. He looked up and taking it, got up.
‘You’re leaving.’ He looked even more miserable.
She smiled. ‘Not yet. Let’s just see first if fate is going to give us a second chance.’ She put out her hand again.
‘Hi, I’m Caitlin Warner, and you are?’ She grinned.
His mouth quirked at the sides. ‘My title is Lord Alfred Mensa. I had a beautiful daughter, who would have looked exactly like you if she had reached your age. Today I would have been so proud of her if she had grown up half the woman you are Caitlin and was able to forgive an old fool like me so easily.’
‘I’m sure she would have been very much like me. She also would have been proud of her father for seeing the wrong and also trying to cor
rect it cordially.’ She then looked around at the intruder. ‘Thanks for your help, kind stranger, but we can take it from here. You have been very honourable, and I’m sure the Lord here will make sure you are well looked after from now on. You have a power he will want to keep close to him in the future.’
Blondie smiled, bowed and left.
Her attention was then on Orion who wasn’t buying any of it and paced furiously. Somehow, she had to bring them both back to a happy place. This wasn’t his argument, it had been hers, and she was damned if she would let their bond break because destiny had him bring her here.
She moved over and slipped her hand into Orion’s, and his mood changed the minute she touched him. He slumped his wide shoulders and rolled his head to relieve the pressure he had been under. ‘You okay, sugar?’
She smiled.
He grinned, and she saw that Orion had gone, Aurek was back. Not in a great mood but in control again.
‘Nice you could join us again Aurek,’ she teased him.
She turned back to Lord Mensa. ‘We were leaving, but I have decided to stay. I’m afraid I’ve destroyed all your guns.’ She gestured with her hands. ‘Oops.’ She shrugged. ‘But Aurek still has one so if you two would like to join me, I’m going hunting.’ She stuck her nose in the air and walked out on both of them, trudging up the hill, optimistic they would follow.
Sure enough, the door slammed shut, and she heard two sets of footsteps, no talking, but she was not alone and knew that here, with these two, she never would be again.
It had been a long walk to the top, and none of them spoke. When Caitlin was just about to give in and start a conversation, large hands grabbed her. ‘Okay, okay, you win. If you’re going to keep ignoring me until I give in, then I give in already. I’m wasting my day with you being mad.’ Aurek turned and put out his hand to Lord Mensa. ‘Mates again, to please the girl neither of us can do without.’ And they shook hands, smiling at what he said.