“Well now,” Ethan breathed and she felt his excitement as he gripped the cage bars. “You seem to have recovered nicely from your wounds.”
He was rewarded with a meek whimper.
“Sounds like I’ve definitely broken you now, girl.”
NO! Caia screamed, desperate to claw at him somehow, maybe take those evil mitts of his and rake his own damn nails down his face.
He was smiling as he bent down to the floor. Caia could see Jaeden, sitting upright, her slender arms wrapped around her knees drawn tight to her chest. She had lost so much weight, her cheekbones sharp, her blue eyes stark in her narrow face. Her eyes didn’t flinch away from his, but Caia saw no emotion there either. She just stared numbly at him, like a zombie. “You know, I was going to kill you since I really have no military use for you anymore, but... I think I’ll just keep you as my punching bag until you die of... well... unnatural causes.” He laughed and stood up and began walking away.
All the while Caia screamed and screamed trying to make him walk back so she could keep on an eye on Jaeden. Finally she exhausted herself, and by then he was back in the old-fashioned sitting room, gazing at the television. Across from him was a young male magik Caia had seen once before. Unfortunately, they had never said anything interesting to one another whilst she had been... visiting.
Suddenly Caia remembered why she was here.
Right, right, she wanted to smack her own head. She was to visualise a room. Right, and a door. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and did just that. A long, narrow cold room with the stench of evil, and at the end… a black door. She walked towards it, trying to stay calm. She stopped outside of it and smirked at the sign on the door - ‘Ethans Evil Brain’. Who says you can’t have a sense of humour even in the darkest of times. She tried for the door handle, and not to her surprise, she found it locked. Oh yeah, Ethan was going to be a tough door to break down.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh! She threw herself with everything she had against the door but it wouldn’t budge. Next her legs were flying at it. Thump thump thump – oof! Marion never mentioned that this was would actually hurt! Frustrated as all Hades Caia took a running throw at it, and despite the burning pain in her ear where she had smacked up against it, she was happy to hear the splintering of wood. She got back to her feet and stared triumphantly at the cracked middle panelling on the door. A few more beatings and the place would be hers for the taking.
Ten minutes later Caia stepped through the door and into a world of pitiless darkness.
***
“Holy Artemis!” She shot up in her bed, drawing in gulps of air. Sweat ran down her forehead, had gathered under her arms and her pj’s stuck to her like second skin. Her whole body ached as if she really had been throwing herself against the door. Glancing at the clock, which read 22.15, Caia hurried out of bed and into her bathroom where she did a quick clean up. No one was in the house, she couldn’t feel any of them, so she threw on some jeans and a sweater, grabbed her car keys and headed outside.
She knew where Jaeden was.
She couldn’t stop grinning, her heart pounding, her adrenaline rushing; she almost wanted to change.
The Ford flew smoothly into town as she headed for Lucien’s store, where she knew he had been hanging out til’ all hours in the night trying to avoid her. But right now he couldn’t avoid her; she needed him to help her get Jaeden back to the pack.
As would be expected, the mall she had to park her car in was completely empty, except for Lucien’s truck. She smirked and got out of the car, shivering at the cold night air and the five minute walk she had to Lucien’s place. The town’s parking facilities really sucked.
At the opposite end of the mall lot was a narrow pathway, almost like an alley, between two stores that she would have to walk through to get onto the main street. She glanced around very aware of being on her own and tried to shrug off a sudden blast of ice that tingled across her skin in a perverse caress.
“Stupid... wimp,” she muttered as she headed across the lot.
And then she stopped.
Her ears pricked, the hair on the back of her neck rose, and her animal instincts told her to run.
By then it was too late. The ice blasted through her veins at the same time something solid crashed against her back, sending her flying through the air. Sickening pain exploded through her body when she landed on the asphalt, the flesh on her hands and legs scraping off in burning tears. Her head snapped back with the impact and her front teeth jarred rattling her brain then piercing through her bottom lip. She tasted the blood and hissed, turning over with her fast reflexes in time to watch the approach of something she had never seen the like of before.
It could have been a human, except for the swirling vortex of hell that was its mouth, its mouth which had no lips, its nose which was merely two small holes in the middle of its face where smoke belched out with its excitement as it neared her. Caia’s heart demanded to explode in her chest but she refused it, breathing in out in out as she scrambled away from it like one of those chicks in a really bad horror movie. The thing’s eyes blazed at her like two white glowing orbs. It had no hair and stood at least seven feet tall, towering over her in nothing but leathers and twisted muscle for a torso. Its skin was burnt red and deadly roped.
A daemon.
Caia knew instinctively that was what it was. Ryder had come across a few in his time and he had described them in perfect detail.
Oh, I am so screwed.
She hopped to her feet, crouched low in a defensive position. “What do you want?” Her voice was impressively steady considering.
The hole that was its mouth widened into what could have been a smile (it was hard to tell) and a soft eerie voice escaped it, “It’s not what I want little wolf, it’s what your uncle wants.”
“Ethan?”
It nodded and smiled again. “Aren’t you going to ask what he wants?”
Caia shook her head. There was no need to. Ryder had told her that daemons were only utilised for two purposes. Security and assassinations.
Quickly, she scanned the area trying to gauge what her best move would be. She didn’t know if she could outrun this thing. She could maybe if she was in lykan form, but did she really have time for that?
No.
And then her eyes alighted on her car and she gasped, looking back and forth between it and the daemon. Could she? She’d never moved anything as large as it before.
The daemon took a step towards her. Caia threw all her energy out towards the car and it strained, the metal crunching under her pull. It stopped the daemon in its tracks.
It looked confused as it took in the crunching car, which had begun squealing slowly towards them, and turned its gaze back on Caia. Seeing her concentration it stood stunned in disbelief.
“I hadn’t thought it true,” it grumbled that echoing voice and picked up its pace, striding towards her.
“Aaaaaaaarrrrggggh!” Caia reached out with both arms and pulled on the car with all her magik, sweat breaking out in beads across her body. The car soared into the air and came hurtling back down, knocking the daemon over like a bowling ball hitting a pin. Caia didn’t hang around. She took off in the direction of the store, flinching at the deafening sound of the car crashing to the ground and rolling and rolling…
It sounded like it was rolling towards her.
“Fu-” she whipped around and stared in shock as it bounced in tumbles across the lot, still coming at her. How much power did she put into the damn thing?! “Waa-” she shrieked and dove to the side, out of its path. Lying panting in disbelief Caia watched as the Ford finally lost momentum and drew to a screeching halt on its left side.
“My car.”
It was completely wrecked that was for sure.
“Don’t mourn your car, little wolf.”
“Aw come on!” She yelled in frightened irritation at the gods, and then turned to see the daemon sneering down at her from a few metres away.
<
br /> Getting back on her feet was the toughest thing she had ever had to do.
“I’m angry now,” the daemon said serenely.
“Gee, I couldn’t tell.”
She really couldn’t.
So what was she going to do now?
Her best bet would be to turn lykan and run.
The thought hadn’t even left her head, when the daemon pulled out of nowhere a long, thin metal chain link with spikes. The daemon lassoed it above its head, and then to her horror whipped it out at her. All she was aware of was the lashing, breath-stealing pain that lanced across her stomach as the spikes ripped her open. And then she was on her back gazing at the sky numbly for a moment. When the pain hit she couldn’t help but scream, clutching at her stomach only to feel warm thick fluid coat her hands. Blinking, terrified, Caia craned her neck and sobbed at the bloody mess that was her belly.
“Don’t worry,” the daemon’s voice carried from a distance but she couldn’t see it. “It will be over soon.”
No, she shook, her head falling back to the ground. She couldn’t die. She had to get to Jaeden. She couldn’t die.
Biting back more screams, Caia managed to turn onto her side and then over onto her knees, saliva dripping from her mouth with the effort.
“You’ve got heart, little wolf.”
I’m going to rip your throat out.
She had no idea how she managed the next feat. All she knew was that she needed to change in order to heal, and in order take this dick out. Maybe it was her magik but the change rippled through her in a second, no crunching, no tingling, wincing pain - just one minute human, the next a wolf. The intense, ferocious pain of her belly wound was enough to make her want to pass out for relief but she mentally shook herself, forcing herself onto all fours. She took a few steps, ignoring the blood that dripped onto the ground below her as the wound tried to heal itself with her transformation.
She looked up with her sharp lykan eyes, pulled back her muzzle and growled ferociously at the daemon as it stood amazed and surprised by what it had witnessed. It was all she needed.
Ignoring her wound, Caia ran and pounced into the air, pushing her wolf until she hit the daemon, her claws piercing its burnt flesh giving her a stranglehold. The daemon didn’t even have time to throw her off before she widened her jaws and sank her teeth into its jugular, tearing its neck open and dousing her mouth and fur in blood. She gagged a little at the amount that flowed down her throat and then salivated as the daemon began to struggle with her. It had a grip of her body and it punched at her wound causing her to whine in pain. Its actions only made her angrier. Aggressively she ripped and tore at its neck… until eventually the damn thing rolled right off its body and fell with a thud. She collapsed with its decapitated body onto the ground and backed up off of it, her belly weeping in agony.
Lucien. She had to get to Lucien.
***
Lucien didn’t know what he was thinking when he had asked Marion to come to his store to discuss what she’d offered to Caia. The magik was like a brick wall and she wasn’t moving.
“I’ve told you I can’t take back my offer because it isn’t my offer to take back.”
He tried not to growl and instead opted for intimidating pacing. “Marion, I thought you were a friend to this pack.”
“I am.”
“Well, how can you possibly think about taking an Alpha’s mate from him?”
Marion heaved a huge sigh and collapsed onto one of the stools that he kept in the workshop. “I told Marita all of this but I have to do what she asked Lucien and... Caia has the right to make her own decisions.”
He knew that. He did. Really. He just hadn’t thought that she would even contemplate leaving him, leaving the pack, once she knew how tightly bound they were. Mates did not leave each other for Gaia’s sake.
But she was leaving him.
Or seriously thinking about leaving him.
Lucien shook his head. He couldn’t believe it. Rage flowed through his veins as thick as the blood it rode and he clung to it desperately. It was better than allowing him to analyse just how hurt he was by her. And you could only be hurt by someone you cared about.
Right now, the last thing on earth he wanted was to care about her.
“I know you care about her, Lucien,” Marion said softly and he snarled, irritated that she could read him so easily. He forgot that magiks did that. Sensed emotions. What crap.
“She’s my mate,” he answered coldly.
“She’s more to you than just a responsibility. I’m not blind.”
He flushed, wanting to hit out at something, and instead turned his back on the witch, trying to control his breathing and his anger. The last thing he needed to do was insult the sister of the Head of the Daylight Coven. Although insulting the Head of the Coven sounded like a good idea right now. Interfering wench.
“You should tell her you have feelings for her. Maybe that’s all she wants.”
Lucien shuddered trying to control himself and he turned back to her, deliberately infusing ice and intimidation into his gaze. “I don’t want to discuss this with you. I just want you to tell your sister where to stick her invitations.”
“Now Luc-”
Scratch, scrape, scratch. Lucien’s ears pricked up at the eerie noise. “Ssh.”
“What?” She frowned.
Lucien shushed her again and listened. There it was again. A scraping noise coming from the front of the store. He strode out of the workshop and stopped.
“What is it?” Marion whispered.
Lucien sniffed and then turned back to the magik, puzzled. “Caia?”
The scratching sounded again followed by a whine, and Lucien was racing to pull open the store’s front door. He watched in silent horror as a blonde wolf limped into the store and collapsed, leaving a trail of blood in her wake.
“Oh my goddess.” Marion fell at her as he stood staring numbly at the sight of his mate bleeding to death on the floor.
“Caia?” He whispered.
“It’s her belly.” Marion’s lips trembled as she turned to look back up at him, her hands covered in Caia’s blood. “She’s lost a lot of blood.”
The copper smell pounded his nostrils like punches knocking him out of his daze and sending his heart into palpitations.
“Caia.” He threw himself down on the floor next to her and looked into green eyes that gazed up at him in fear. She whined, and he ran a comforting hand down her bloodied blonde coat, noting a strange black dried blood around her muzzle.
“What happened to her?” He choked, anger building the tempo of his heart.
“Now, Lucien, stay calm,” Marion muttered. “Her wound is bad but it’s healing as we speak.” she stopped and looked up. “Saffron!”
Suddenly, the faerie was in the store looking nonplussed until she took in Caia.“Oh my.”
“Saffron, I need you to follow Caia’s trail of blood and see if you can find out what’s happened here.”
The faerie nodded militantly and left quickly.
Lucien looked down at his hands, now coated in Caia’s blood and he clenched them into fists. “This is her uncle, isn’t it?” He growled and watched Marion flinch at the sound of the lykan in his voice.
“I told you to stay calm. She needs you to stay calm whilst I salt the wound closed.”
He nodded and stroked Caia’s head. She whined again and gazed back up at him and all his anger towards her just fell away.
“Caia.” He leaned down to whisper in her ear, whilst he continued to stroke her soothingly, “It’s OK, querida. You’re going to be OK.”
She growled and flinched as Marion literally poured some kind of salt onto her wound and Lucien had to hold her down so she didn’t snap her jaws at the witch. He hummed low in his throat to calm her and watched in amazement as the salt glowed like fire on a stick of dynamite, before it burned out, leaving a closed wound.
He frowned, realising Caia had stilled beneath him.
/>
“Caia.” He shook her head until Marion placed a hand on his forearm.
“She’s passed out. She’s fine.”
His heart beat ferociously. “She better be,” he threatened.
Marion chuckled. “Why, just five minutes ago I thought you couldn’t care less about her?”
“I didn’t say that,” his snarl of outrage shut her up and he guessed she realised now was not a time to tease him.
“Do you have a blanket?”
Lucien shook his head, not taking his eyes off of Caia. A blanket suddenly appeared over her small furry self.
“It’s for when she comes around. She’ll need to change in order to get proper rest.”
Lucien choked again, not wanting to think about what Caia had just gone through and he hadn’t been there to protect her. “What do you think happened?”
“Well,” Marion sighed gravely, getting to her feet, “Saffron will fill us in but... I can feel something unfamiliar in her energy... ”
“Unfamiliar?”
“Daemon.” They turned to see Saffron striding through the door, a grimace on her face. “Daemon,” she repeated and then looked down thoughtfully at Caia. “Is she OK?”
“She will be. What do you mean daemon?”
Saffron glanced between the two of them. “The blood led to the parking lot at the mall, where I found Caia’s car obliterated and turned up on its side. It was cast in magik, Caia’s magik, so I’m guessing she used it as a weapon. Smart girl.”
Lucien couldn’t even process that. Caia had used her car as a weapon? He looked back down at her in awe. Who was this kid? “That doesn’t explain how you know it was a daemon.”
“Well.” Saffron actually looked gleeful. “I found a decapitated daemon several yards from the car. He had a spiked chain link coated in Caia’s blood so I’m guessing that’s how she got wounded. She must have changed into lykan to heal and then literally tore his head off. I’m impressed.” She chuckled. “That girl has got serious attitude.”
Moon Spell: Part One in the Tale of Lunarmorte Page 25