by Dawn Gray
“Quinn believed it was Creolas and that the red-eyed vampire had learned how to shift into different forms. His favorite seemed to be Nick.”
“Is that possible, to shift or even use a mind control to make two people see two different things at the same time.” I asked, shaking my head, not wanting to believe it. “That night I saw Julian and he saw Nick. How can it be that those two people were someone entirely different?”
“That's what the conversation the night they arrived was all about.” Julian smiled. “There were only three of us when I got there. Creolas had disappeared, but he promised to return. It was a promise the three of us hoped he didn't keep.”
He stood and walked over to the fireplace. He leaned against the mantel and stared at the empty space in front of him, caught in the moment of that fateful conversation.
* * * * *
I stood there, looking at the others, Quinn sighed, as Nick and I exchanged glances. The anger I felt, the need to protect Caitlyn was brewing inside me and I found it hard to contain.
“So, let's get on with this before Creolas comes back.” Quinn spoke up. Nick looked at him and nodded. “First question, why are you here, why did you come back?”
“I thought you would be glad to see me.” Nick smiled, sarcastically at us. I shook my head, rolled my eyes and then looked back at him. “Honestly, I was called back, and I'm not sure by whom, but, when I found out Creolas was coming back also, I knew that it didn't matter who it was that had sent out the call. I also knew that O'Neal had returned and that fact alone made me come here.”
“Stay away from her, Nick!” I ordered.
“I should be the least of your concerns, Cousin. The real danger lies in Creolas, and the prophecy.”
“What prophecy?” Quinn asked, stepping up between us. I looked at my brother, then back at Nick.
“Tell him, Cousin; tell him just what you got Caitlyn into.” Nick smiled, evilly. I struggled not to hit him as my hands clenched into fist.
“Larado is her ancestor.” I told Quinn, who looked at me in shock, but then it slowly faded. “There's something that Larado told me when he was alive and it has to do with her.”
“What?” Quinn asked, moving closer to me. “Julian, what's going to happen to her?”
“In one hundred years, the time will come for events to unfold. Three rings of gold will set the scene for the power of three to make things right, with an Earthly brown, a soul is found, as skies are blue, whose powers are true, and seas are green, to fight forces unseen. If all three will stand and fight, on this full moon's night, and then turn towards the circles of fire, waging war, they will save what evil desires.” I told him the prophecy had been in my mind once Caitlyn had arrived because I knew it was about her. Quinn was staring at me this whole time but when I lowered my eyes to the floor and crossed my arms, his temper flared.
“Damn you, Julian!” He screamed at me. I glanced up at him and watched him walk away a bit, throwing punches in the air, then he came back to us. “You and those damn prophecies are just an excuse to put innocent young women in the way of danger so you can come trotting in on a white stallion to save their asses. It has to stop!”
“She's not innocent, Quinn.” Nick spoke up. I looked at him and snarled.
“Of course, she's not!” I hollered. “Not after what you did to her!”
“For the last time, it wasn't me!” Nick snapped and turned to face me. “Can't you get that through your feeble mind, or shall I pound it in for you?”
“Then, who was it?” I asked.
“Creolas.” Nick whispered, softly.
“Ah-huh.” I nodded then rolled my eyes.
“I hope you have evidence to support this.” Quinn said, sternly. Nick smiled and shook his head.
“Whether you believe me or not, doesn't matter to me.” Nick replied. He turned and looked me squarely in the eyes. “It's her life at stake, not mine.”
“Fine.” I answered, also crossing my arms. “Let's hear your story.”
“After we left here last time, I followed Creolas back to London, and then I learned some fascinating things about my younger brother.” Nick walked over to the fireplace and leaned on the mantel, staring into the fire. “Apparently, during the period of time that my brother had seemingly disappeared off the face of the Earth, he had begun to study under a witch that specialized in lycanthropy.”
“A shape-shifting witch?” Quinn asked and Nick nodded in response.
“She helped him become powerful enough mentally to not only shift, at will, into any form he wished, but also to control the mind into believing it saw something completely different.” Nick smiled over at me. “I know how your mind works, cousin. I know that you need proof but I don't have any to give you.”
“I do.” A voice reached out to us from the doorway and the three of us turned and looked at the figure standing there. He stepped into the light and I listened to Quinn's quick intake of breath, then I looked from the man in the doorway, to behind me at Nick, who was staring at him, back to the identical mirror image of him that stood before us. “Shocking, isn't it?”
Slowly, the voice changed, becoming deeper as the outer shell of this man shrank two inches and gained the long, red hair that belonged to Creolas. His brown eyes turned fiery red and my youngest cousin smiled, evilly, at me, his vampire teeth seemed to be permanently elongated.
“I wasn't aware that I was being followed.” Creolas smiled at Nick, who sighed and looked away. “You've learned to hide yourself well.”
“I've had a lot of practice.” Nick snarled.
“Why are we discussing me?” He asked, politely. I rubbed my forehead, and tried not to look at those evil red eyes. “Is it because of that beautiful blue-eyed creature upstairs?” He looked over at me as my head snapped up to look at him. “Ah, it must be to get such a reaction from all three of you.”
“Stay away from her!” Quinn told him. Creolas smirked at him then folded his hands in front of him.
“You can't protect her all the time.” He answered. “Can you?”
“What do you want with her?” Nick questioned which made Creolas look at him.
“The same thing you seem to want,” he stepped closer, and looked at me, “and the same thing you want,” then, his attention turned to Quinn, “and, you.” He pointed his fingers out, towards the three of us and laughed. “You all want one thing, her, so why not share in the fun? I heard orgies came be great fun.”
“You son of a bitch!” I yelled and moved at him, but, as I stepped closer to him, teeth bared and eyes glowing, an arm came up to black my way. I looked over at Nick, who held my gaze with a stern look, and snarled. “Get out of my way!”
“Go upstairs.” Nick whispered. I glared into his eyes.
“Stop trying to order me around!” I screamed at him through clenched teeth.
“Can't you hear her?” He whispered. I could see the red blood haze around my eyes start to fade as I opened my mind and listened to her. She was talking to me, but I'm not sure if it was a conscious chat or not, but all that she was saying made sense, and I felt drawn to her. “She's calling you. Go to her. Quinn and I will handle this problem.”
* * * * *
“I'm not sure what happened after I left, but you could feel the surge of emotions for several minutes before it vanished.” Julian looked over at me as I concentrated on him and he shrugged. “You were asleep when I came up and Michael had said nothing about you leaving the room, or not.”
“So, now you've heard it.” I said, looking towards Ashley. “Is there anything else you'd like to hear?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, there is.” She said, in a soft spoke voice. I crossed my arms as I watched her. She blinked, glanced down at her fingers, and back up at me.
“And, what's that?” I whispered.
“The rest of the story.” She replied. This took me back a bit, and I had to study her awhile before I nodded and decided to go on. Julian moved to a chair close to hers and watc
hed me as I got comfortable in my own chair. I looked up at the two of them, and then glanced at Julian, who smiled, adoringly, my way.
Where do I begin again and how much should I let out? What were the consequences of letting Ashley know my story and my connection with Julian? These were things that I wished I knew the answers to ahead of time, but, I didn't and that left me with only one choice, to tell her the rest of what happened.
8
“Julian?” I whispered as I sat up in bed and looked over at the man silhouetted in the window. He turned his head and looked at me, with a handsome smile. There was a cold draft in the room that the blazing fire in the hearth didn't seem to get rid of and I pulled the covers closer to me.
“It's all right, Cait.” He whispered, sitting beside me on the bed. I could feel his hand on my arm as he rested it there above the blankets. “Are you cold?”
“No, but there is a draft.” I smiled and looked at the empty spot beside me on the bed. “Would you like to help me warm it up?”
“Wouldn't you rather be up and about, it's only a little late in the afternoon?” He smiled as I shook my head. “Have you gotten lazy since we last met, wanting to stay in bed all day?”
“On the contrary, I'm a very busy lady and this happens to be the perfect time to relax, now are you coming or not?” I laughed at him and pulled the covers down. Julian slowly climbed over me and came to rest on the empty side of the bed. He lay down on his side and stroked my hair with his fingers. “So, your big discussion, what was it about?”
“Can't you guess?” He whispered, smiling. “There always seems to be a big commotion when you come to visit.”
“Funny, I don't remember a big scene between the four of you last time I was here.” I replied and laughed as I moved closer to him. I reached out with my fingers and touched his lips. I looked deep into his eyes and smiled as he moved to tower over me. “The ocean never looked so beautiful.”
“I'm not sure I understand.” He replied, softly, as he leaned closer to me and kissed me, quickly.
“You're eyes are like some vast ocean, filled with different shades of green.” I laughed and shook my head as his smile faded and he backed away, slowly, with a stunned look on his face. “What is it, Julian?”
“What color would you describe your eyes?” He asked. I shook my head as I looked at him as if he had flipped. “It's important, Cait.”
“Blue, I guess.” I replied and shrugged. “My mother used to say they were a sky blue, like what it looks like close to dusk.” I took his hand as he moved further away. “Julian, why are you so far away? What's going on?”
“It's nothing.” He said, softly, and came back to me. His arms wrapped snugly around me and he held me against the coolness of his body, but despite the lack of warmth from his skin, his touch provided the heat, and his kisses ignited a fire that seemed to spread quickly
It was close to dinnertime when Julian made his way across the hall to the adjacent bathroom to take a shower. It was then that I decided to call Connie and check on my son.
“Hello?” The voice answered after four rings. I smiled at Connie's excited voice.
“Hi, it's me.” I replied.
“Caitlyn, hi, I wasn't sure if I was going to ever hear from you again.” She answered.
“It's only been twenty-four hours. How's Damien?” I asked.
“He's good; right now Paul has him outside. So, how goes things?”
“Strange.” I replied, touching the side of the bed that Julian had been on. “Things have been coming back faster since I've been back here, and people I suddenly remember are appearing.”
“Like who?” She asked, and I listened to her bang pans around for a bit before I replied.
“Nick is here.”
“He is?” She asked, with a shocked voice. “Last time I saw him he told me he would “never set foot in this house again, unless it was a life or death situation”.”
“That's good to know.” I looked up at the window, and watched as the sun began to sink in the sky. “Because, he seems to have brought his brother back with him and the vibes I get of Creolas made me feel quite threatened. Other things, though, haven't quite added up.”
“You know, Caitlyn, if you're not so sure of things, maybe you should come home.” Connie suggested. I sighed, climbed off the bed and looked out the open door to my room.
“I will, soon, but there are other things that I have to remember, things that are important.”
“To whom, you or Julian?” She questioned. This made me stop and think, but then I shrugged it off when I spotted Nick coming up the staircase.
“Connie, I'm going to call you back tomorrow, there's something I have to do.” I smiled and said good-bye to her only seconds before Nick reached the top of the stairs. I stepped out of the room and stopped him as his feet touched the floor. “We have to talk.”
“Are you sure that's a good idea, considering who you’re sleeping with?” He asked, sarcastically. I crossed my arms and looked at him sternly.
“Whether or not I am involved with Julian, and who I'm sleeping with, shouldn't matter right at this moment, Nick, because what we need to discuss doesn't concern him.” I told him, stepping closer. He looked passed me at the bathroom door, which was still closed, and then he looked down at me and nodded.
“Fine.” He answered, a bit uncaringly. “Where would you like to go to “discuss”?”
“There's a room at the end of the hall that we can go to.” I gestured down the hallway behind him, then walked by and headed for the room. I could feel Nick following behind me and then turned to look at him as we entered the room.
“So, what do you want to talk about?” He shrugged, with his arms crossed over his chest.
“First off, drop the act, because it doesn't work for me.” I told him, putting my hands on my hips. He smirked at me then shook his head.
“And, what act would that be?” He asked.
“The cold, “I don't give a shit about anybody” act.” I replied. “You men are all alike; do you really think that stone cold persona you put on is really attractive?”
“Are you saying that you're attracted to me?” He asked as he made his way over to the couch, where he sat in the middle of the cushion and stretched his arms out along the length of the backrest.
“No, but Connie was.” I replied, as I turned to face him. I watched the cocky smile fade from his face and his eyes took on a softer look. “Why did you leave her? Was it because of me, or because of what happened to me?”
“Not everything is about you.” He replied, quietly.
“No, I didn't think it was.” I stepped over and sat in the chair in front of him, and then I watched as he turned away from me. “So, why did you do it?”
“She was in danger.” He whispered.
“In danger of what? By whom?” I questioned.
“Why are you bringing this up?” He asked, snapping his head around to look at me. I smiled at this reaction, knowing in my heart that he still cared for her made this easier.
“I was on the phone with her, just before I confronted you.”
“Oh.” His eyes lowered to the floor.
“And, she said that the last time you saw her, you told her that you would never step foot in this house again, so why are you here now?” I leaned forward, placing elbows on my knees. “Is it because of Creolas, or because you thought I would bring her back here too?”
“I don't want to talk about this anymore.” He whispered and looked up at me; his brown eyes seemed hard and distant.
“Why?” I asked. He stood, moved across the floor, and towered over me as I was backed into the corner, in what felt like an instant. His teeth bared and I could see his vampire teeth, but they were dull, as if they were meant to be a warning. “Nick, I don't want to hurt you, just tell me why.”
“Because, I loved her.” He replied, quietly, then stood and headed for the door.
“She's been alone since you left her.”
I replied, sitting up in the chair. He stopped in the doorway, with his back to me and I listened to him sigh. “I didn't realize why she never met anyone else, or why she got so into her job, but now I know.” I looked over at him as he glanced sideways at me. “It's because she has been waiting for you.”
“She doesn't have anyone?” He asked, softly.
“Well, there's Paul.” I replied, which got him to look away, then I smiled. “Of course, he's not interested in women, so I don't know if I'd count that as someone.”
“What's your point, O'Neal?” He asked.
“Why don't you go back to her?” I questioned.
“The time isn't right, there's still danger around.”
“There always was and always will be, but that didn't stop you from getting involved before, why should it now?”
“You're a nosy pest, O'Neal, you always were.” He answered, but I noticed that a bit of the hardness had left his voice, and I smiled as he stepped out of the room. I stood and moved to the window to look out at the ocean, when I heard someone walk in.
“He wasn't bothering you, was he?” Julian's voice asked.
“What is it with you and him?” I questioned and turned to look at him, my arms crossed over my chest. Julian shrugged.
“We've always been a bit competitive.” He replied.
“Well, you both can knock it off around me, because I'm not buying into it.” I answered. Suddenly, as I looked at him, my head began to spin as my eyes blurred. All I saw was darkness, and then there was a bright flash of light as the memories came flying at me. I felt Julian's hands on my arms, guiding me to the couch, where he made me lay down.
“Caitlyn, what is it?” Julian asked. I opened my eyes, trying to focus on the man in front of me, but I wasn't having any luck. Finally, after several tries; I gave up and close my eyes. “Do you see something?”
“Me.” I replied, in a whisper. “I see myself, as if I were separated from my physical person, standing in the middle of the grass outside. Under my feet is a circle of grass that looks as if it died, from lack of water, but it's a perfect ring, a gold ring, and there are others one to my left and another to my right. I can see myself turning to face the ocean, and I can see the strange way that the dark clouds are rolling in, as if a sudden storm was approaching. On the underside of it, you can see the glow of red, like there's a fire out at sea. The feel, though, is like pure evil.”