by Bethany Shaw
“If they don’t exterminate them, I’ll help you do it.”
“Good.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “It will have to be before the full moon or you’ll be just as far gone as them.”
“Elena is going to come through for us.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “How can you be so positive?”
Noah reached out and took her hand. She let him, though her eyes never strayed from their joined hands. “Because I have to have hope. Without hope, what’s the point of living?”
She grimaced as if his words touched her. It suddenly dawned on him she probably gave up on hope; she survived so long through so much evil she was jaded. He saw it in his line of work before; the evilness of the world could harm even the most beautiful souls.
“When I pull through this, I’m going to take you on a date,” he said with a smile.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
“I never do.” He silently hoped this wouldn’t be the first one. Elena was the most intelligent and accomplished doctor in her field—she was going to find a cure.
“Why are you doing this, Noah? If you live through this, why not find someone else who isn’t honor bound to kill you? Surely there are nice, normal women in the world.”
She rolled her eyes and looked away, but he stopped her by tucking his thumb under her chin and gently turning her face back to his. “There are plenty of good women in the world, but if Elena is successful, you won’t be honor bound to kill me and I’ll be like you.”
“No. You’ll be a human. Big difference.”
He laughed out loud. “You’re right. But you won’t have to kill me.”
She offered him a small smile. “That might be, but you’ll still be mortal and tied to the same life span as a human. I’m immortal. It just wouldn’t work.”
“But Daire—”
“Was a special case. I doubt Astraea is going to be making any other deals. It’s been six months and she still can’t find a replacement for Daire. Besides, Grace is his soulmate, the reincarnation of his wife, his one true love.” She clucked her tongue and closed her eyes, letting her head fall back on the headboard.
“I didn’t know soulmates actually existed,” Noah said.
“Neither did I until a few months ago.”
“How do you know when you find your soulmate?” he wondered out loud. Was there some type of sign, magic, a spark, a yearning to be with that person—to touch them and soothe away their troubles? He’d really like to know because he felt all those things for the beauty before him. Was it just lust or was there something more going on?
“I don’t know.” She shrugged her shoulders feeling deflated.
Maybe he’d have to ask Daire about it later. That was assuming the guardian would talk to him. After the earful from earlier, it was clear Daire wasn’t too fond of him—not that Noah could blame him. His group hadn’t held up their end of the deal; the lycanthrope must be neutralized. He just needed to convince his superiors, which was easier said than done.
Chapter Twelve
“You’re up late,” Ethney commented as she walked into Elena’s makeshift lab.
Elena waved her off. “I don’t sleep much. Not that I could anyway. Claire and Noah’s lives are on the line, not to mention countless others.”
“Is there anything I can help with?” Ethney asked.
It was probably futile, but the part of her that never wanted to give up still held on. She couldn’t tell Noah though; if he knew how much she wanted to save him, he’d fight ten times harder to rekindle what they started. She couldn’t do that to herself. It was already bad enough. The best thing she could do was save his life and let him live a semi-normal life.
Elena heaved in a big breath and let it out. “I feel like I’m still not seeing the whole big picture. The more I know about this condition, the better.”
“Noah told you everything.” It was true. He went into the lycanthrope creation story, only leaving out the guardians, but that didn’t matter since the guardians had nothing to do with what was happening to Noah.
“Tell me about you. You’re not like Noah. What are you? Not human I presume?”
“Not human,” she agreed. “What I am doesn’t matter to your research.”
“But what if it does?” she asked.
“How could it?” Ethney scowled. The magic that created her was different than the lycanthrope; Greek gods and goddesses all controlled different things.
Elena smiled and turned back to her microscope. “I don’t know. I’m just brainstorming. Sometimes a cure requires you to think outside the box. It’s probably nothing anyway.”
She bit her lip before finally asking, “What is your theory?” It couldn’t hurt to ask. At this point she was willing to explore any legitimate idea. If there was a cure, it could turn the tide of the war. They could heal victims before they lost their way.
“The people who did this to Noah were created by a goddess. I didn’t think they actually existed, but anyhow,” Elena said more to herself than to Ethney, “well, what if we got the goddess’ blood somehow as an antidote.”
“I don’t think Selene is going to open up a vein for you or anyone else,” Ethney said with a snort. The goddess had abandoned her creations and was allowing them to run crazy on Earth. None of the other gods seemed to care either, Astraea excluded. Why would Selene help now?
“I did a little research on Greek gods. There are ways to summon them,” Elena continued as if she hadn’t heard Ethney. “What if we summoned her and explained the situation. Wouldn’t she want to fix her mistake?”
Ethney shook her head. She only ever met Astraea, but the impression her goddess gave was none of the Greek gods really cared what happened on Earth anymore. What was worse, Selene was very aware of what her creations were capable of and had no interest in stopping them. She was still punishing Pan for something that happened eons ago. She hated thinking about it because it just made her livid—thousands of lives had been lost due to simple pettiness. It made her sick.
Ethney shook her head. “I don’t think so. Besides, I’m pretty sure they don’t listen to people anymore. There hasn’t been rumors or talks of a god being sighted in centuries. They’re gone.” Except for Astraea.
“All of them?”
Ethney didn’t answer her. Her mind began to work a mile a minute. Astraea was still very much present and while Selene didn’t care, maybe Pan still did. His job was to protect the flocks. What if his blood could help? It was worth a shot.
“You keep working on that. I’ll get back to you.” She didn’t give Elena a chance to respond before she darted out of the room and to her private bedroom.
Once inside, she locked the door and knelt on the floor. Closing her eyes, she prayed silently to her goddess. The room quickly grew cold as a wind gust fluttered past her. Ethney opened her eyes to find Astraea staring down at her. Her flowing black hair was pulled back from her face with a golden star pin and her blue silk dress cascaded about her when she took a step forward.
“Rise, child. What is it?” Worry pinched her face as Ethney stood.
She didn’t usually call on the goddess unless it was a true emergency. “I think the doctor may be on to something.”
Astraea lifted her brow. She placed one of her hands on a golden star embellishment that covered the strap of her dress. “Oh? I haven’t been able to look in. I’ve been following up on our previous conversation.” Her brows dipped down into a scowl. “Ryssa and Naveen are being held prisoner by the lycanthrope in Ireland. You were right. One of our own has betrayed us. Vlad is working with the lycanthrope.”
“No!” She didn’t want to believe it. She didn’t work with Vlad very often, but he seemed like a decent guardian and like he wanted what was best for the people. What happened to him?
“I didn’t want to believe it either, but I saw it with my own eyes. Ryssa and Naveen are safe for the moment. Is the situation clear here?”
Ethney shifted on h
er feet. “Sort of.”
Astraea’s frown deepened. “What’s happened?”
“Brockwell is dead, but the military went back on their word. They took his cohorts into custody. They plan to question them and do who knows what else.”
Astraea clucked her tongue and growled. “Humans never change, do they?”
“There is a bit of good news, maybe,” she said quietly. The goddess lifted her brow seemingly waiting for Ethney to continue. “The doctor, Elena Hawthorne, she may have figured out a cure. We were able to get all of the new recruits here with us so she could do a full blood workup on them, but we need something to test her theory.”
Astraea crossed her arms over her chest. “What is it?”
“She wants to try Selene’s blood.”
Astraea tipped her head back and laughed. “That bitch would sooner die than stop this. After all these years, she is still bitter.”
“What about Pan’s blood? He tried to stop her, at least he did a long time ago.”
Astraea put a finger to her lip and tapped it. “She may very well be onto something, but it won’t be easy to get him to give up his blood, I can assure you. Our blood, in the hands of a mortal, is very dangerous. There is no telling what effects it might have.”
“Will you try?” Ethney blurted out before she could think better of it.
The goddess’s eyes widened.
“I mean, we can’t let all these innocent people die. We are running out of ideas.”
Astraea took a step toward her, reaching out to touch Ethney’s temple with her finger. “The man, Noah, he’s affected you, hasn’t he? You care for him.”
It wasn’t a question but a statement. Lying would only make the goddess angry so she nodded instead.
“I see.”
“I’m tired of watching people die,” Ethney said quietly. It was the truth, but she didn’t tell the goddess she couldn’t let Noah die.
Pity filled Astraea’s face. “Me, too, but you mustn’t let your feelings get in the way of duty. Vlad has fallen for one of them, which is why he turned. He’s murdered humans and taken two of us prisoner. Promise me should the time come, you’ll make a better decision.”
Ethney swallowed hard. “I promise.” She meant it, too. As much as she was beginning to care for Noah, if he turned into a monster he wouldn’t be the same man. It would do him a disservice to let him live like that. It would go against everything he believed in. As much as she cared for him, she respected him too much to dishonor him just to keep him alive.
“Good.” Astraea bobbed her head up and down, seemingly satisfied with her answer. “I’ll see about speaking with Pan. It is time to clean this mess up. We both know that once they’ve completed the change, it is too late for them. The best thing we can do for them is to show them mercy.”
“I will.”
Astraea held her gaze a moment longer before her image began to fade and the room was empty once again.
Ethney let out a breath and skimmed a hand through her hair. She was right—they were betrayed by one of their own. Everything just kept growing more and more complicated.
A knock on her door drew her from her thoughts. She tugged it open to meet Noah’s wide eyes.
“My friend Mick is here. He’s got some information I think you need to hear.”
What now? “Okay.”
She followed Noah down the hall and into the front room. Daire and Aric already stood in the corner; they both had their arms crossed over their chests with grim expressions on their faces. A familiar-looking man sat on the couch. She realized he was on the strike team—Mick.
Noah motioned for her to have a seat, but she opted to stand and lean against the entryway.
Mick cleared his throat, his eyes roaming from Daire and Aric to her then back to the two males before finally falling on his friend. “Noah’s told me pretty much everything going on here. I’m not supposed to be here, but Noah’s been my best friend since basic training and I know we are in over our heads. The government doesn’t plan to dispose of the lycanthropes at the base, they intend to experiment on them.”
“Bastards!” Aric said. He gritted his teeth and pumped his fists at his sides.
Ethney muttered under her breath. She should’ve known including the military would make things go sideways. The guardians eliminated Brockwell and inherited a whole other problem. Why couldn’t people just do what they said they were going to do?
Daire pushed off the wall. “They have to be stopped. These people can’t be experimented on! There is no telling what affects modern medicines and experiments could have on their condition. It could make them ten times worse. We could end up with a whole new situation on our hands!”
“I agree. We need to attack the facility,” Ethney said.
“It’s a private military base. You can’t just walk in there,” Noah said.
“I can get you access. It’d have to be tonight though. They plan on shipping some of them out in the morning,” Mick said. He scrubbed a hand over his face and blew out a breath. “There is another problem, though. They are watching you. I’m sure they already know I’m here.”
“Mick, there’s no coming back from this. You’re risking your career as it is just being here,” Noah said with a shake of his head. “What are you doing?”
Mick stood from the couch and clapped Noah on the shoulder. “I know what’s at stake. If you’re right about these guys, then we have to stop them.”
“You’ll be a wanted man,” Daire said. “We all will be.”
Mick looked at the floor. “I always promised myself if I ever had to do anything that questioned my beliefs, I’d put a stop to it. We all have to draw a line somewhere. I read the reports. I know what these...animals have done. I’ve interacted with them, too, while putting them in the cells. Noah and I went on countless missions and dealt with so many heartless people; I know what a soulless man looks like when I stare him in the eyes. There is no redemption for these people. They can’t be allowed to leave the base. The risk is too great.”
“How far away is this base?” Ethney asked.
“About forty-five minutes from here,” Mick said. “They are transporting some of them at 0600. We have less than three hours.”
This wasn’t good at all. They needed to move and now. First, though, they needed to take care of the people watching them.
“Where are the men watching us located and how many are there?” Ethney asked.
“There is a team of twelve,” Mick said. “These guys are just following orders. They are good men. We can’t just take them out.”
“Not to mention, we have a whole horde of people here counting on us to come up with a cure and keep them safe,” Noah said.
“Are the men watching the water?” Ethney asked. The back porch was literally feet from the ocean; she could dive into the water from it if she wanted. No one would have to see her leave.
“Ethney and I could travel by water. We’d be undetectable,” Aric said with a nod.
“What about everyone here?” Noah asked again. “If you go, you’re putting them all in danger. It’s not going to take much for them to connect the dots once you attack the base, which means the men outside will likely attack. There are kids here.”
“I think we need to call in Astraea,” Daire said quietly. “We need to do a mind wipe and clean up.”
“What does that mean?” Mick asked. He looked to Daire with a perplexed look.
“I think you’re right,” Aric agreed.
“She’s already working on something for me,” Ethney said, “we can try to call her, but I don’t think she’ll answer. I just spoke to her.”
“What is she working on?” Aric asked, tipping his head to the side to stare at her.
She pursed her lips, not wanting to give Noah any reason to hope if the idea fell through. “It’s Vlad. He’s captured Ryssa and Naveen. He’s working with the lycanthropes—Brockwell was telling the truth. We were betrayed by one of our
own.”
“What? Why?” Daire asked. He snarled hard enough to cause a puff of steam to escape his nostrils.
Ethney shrugged. “Does it matter? He turned his back on us.”
Red tinged her cheeks as she thought about the reason behind his deception. Her eyes darted to Noah and then to the floor. Whatever was going on between them couldn’t effect her job. Once he changed on the full moon, his whole personality would, too. He wouldn’t be the same man. She wouldn’t forget her duty for a man who wouldn’t remember her in a few weeks. If Elena’s cure didn’t work, she’d have to kill him. The thought made her heart stop.
Why did love have to be so cruel? She truly was cursed in love. Wait! Love? Since when did she start throwing that word around? What was wrong with her? She needed to get her head in the game and fast.
“This job gets to you after a while,” Aric said, “I wonder what Astraea is going to do about Vlad?”
“I don’t know,” Ethney answered honestly.
No one ever betrayed his or her duty before. She imagined if Astraea could create them, then she could just as easily destroy them. The goddess would have two guardians to replace then. Poor Daire. Was he ever going to get his freedom with everything going on? For his sake, she hoped so. He deserved to be happy together with Grace—that was the important thing.
The same couldn’t be said for her though. If, by some miracle, there was a cure for Noah, he might still be a lycanthrope or at least have the blood in his system. Astraea would never allow her to have a romantic relationship with the enemy.
Speaking of the goddess, the air around her shimmered and Ethney took a step back as Astraea appeared before them. It was unlike the goddess to make contact in the presence of humans. Something big must be up.
Ethney, Daire, and Aric bowed their heads. Astraea walked around the room, taking a moment to stare at each of them before stopping in front of Ethney. “I have what you asked for.” The goddess handed her a box. “Be careful with it and make it count. That is all you will ever get.”
“Thank you.”
Astraea offered her a small smile before she turned to Noah and studied him through narrowed eyes. She clucked her tongue and turned away from him, her blue gown swishing against the floorboards as she drifted to the window.