Eternal Changes (Mikah)

by Tiffany Berry

  Karver arrived at his room and laid Lucy on the bed. “Now for the boy,” he hissed as he dissipated. He solidified in the woods and sniffed the air. The boy’s scent wafted into his nostrils. “Ah ha,” Karver whispered. The boy was a little over a mile away. Karver smiled as he propelled himself up into the air. “This should be fun.”

  A mile into the woods, a flash of white captured Karver’s attention. Karver smiled as the boy’s feet pounded against the ground and his arms pumped back and forth with a vengeance. “You better run faster than that, boy,” Karver yelled as he swooped down and flew right up behind the boy.

  Michael glanced back and his eyes widened as he looked into Karver’s black eyes. “Leave me alone!”

  Karver propelled forward and grabbed the boy underneath his arms and lifted him up.

  “Let me go,” Michael screamed as his body left the ground.

  “Are you really sure that you want me to?” Karver asked as he reached the tops of the trees.

  “Yes!” Michael said.

  Karver shrugged and let go. “Ok”

  “Noooooooooooo,” Michael screamed as he fell. His arms and legs flailed wildly.

  Karver waited and then darted back down into the woods and grabbed the boy before the boy hit the ground. “Now, be a good boy and be quiet,” he said as he began the flight back to the caves.

  Karver landed on the ground and tossed the boy over his shoulders as Karver carried him through the caves. The caverns were quiet as he walked up to the room. Karver opened the door and tossed the boy inside. This time he locked the door before he left.

  Chapter 19

  Caoilainn left the caves of the Dragomir before sunrise and entered Euphranor. A sigh escaped her lips and her heart sank as she walked into her bedroom. She changed her clothes and put on the ceremonial robe. The blue velvet robe was intricately designed with the cougar’s way of life. A small male child stood proudly in one design and the next design showed him transforming into a cougar. The cougar roared as it ran through the woods. She gently touched the soft robe. It portrayed love, laughter, courage, honesty, and loyalty.

  Caoilainn turned and unlocked the chestnut dresser drawer on her vanity. Inside the drawer, a small crown sparkled and the red rubies glowed. The rubies represented the blood that gave the Daroch life. Caoilainn placed it on her head and braided her golden hair into one long braid.

  Caoilainn’s head turned as several horns blew outside. The robe rustled as she slid it on and walked out of her room. People passed by, tears falling quietly from their eyes as they each carried a torch. The flames flickered and danced along the walls and floor. Caoilainn looked up at a wooden house as she passed by. A little girl’s forehead was pressed against the window as her blue eyes sparkled with unshed tears. Caoilainn touched her hand to her heart and pointed to the child.

  A little girl’s lips wobbled as she nodded down at Caoilainn and she pressed her small hand up against the window. A tear slipped down Caoilainn’s cheek as she stared back in front of her.

  Caoilainn walked into the middle of Othniel. The room was brimming with her people as they stared straight ahead at the large red platform. Malachi’s body laid on it. His fur gleamed where it had been cleaned. Deidra stood by him with her head held high and tears streamed down her face. Deidra’s hand was delved into Malachi’s fur.

  Caoilainn walked through the crowd and up the white marble stairs to the green platform. She looked at Deidra. Deidra nodded and Caoilainn touched Malachi’s soft fur. Caoilainn bent down and whispered into his ear. “It’s time, my friend. I will miss you for the rest of my days.”

  Caoilainn stood up and turned towards her people. “We come here today to say good-bye not only to our good friend, but to our brother,” Caoilainn announced. “Malachi stood for everything that our people cherish. His loyalty and courage will never be forgotten. Let’s give him the respect that he deserves!”

  Caoilainn and the entire crowd shifted unanimously into cougars. Roars rung throughout the city. Caoilainn scraped her paws against the ground and pawed at it before springing forward into the crowd. Deidra grabbed her mate and gently slung him over her back and followed behind Caoilainn. The city’s streets were flooded with gold as the cougars ran through them.

  Caoilainn glanced back at the sea of faces. She nodded at them right before she flashed out of the city and reappeared in the woods. Claw marks lined the grave from where it had been dug out by Malachi’s mate. Caoilainn looked around the forest. Her people flashed into the woods and Eirians dropped down from the branches of the nearby trees. Fairies levitated in the air as they waited.

  Deidra appeared by the grave and gently lowered Malachi’s body into it and brushed a paw full of dirt over his body. Fairies flittered around the grave as they began singing a sad, melancholy song. Their voices floated through the air and Caoilainn’s eyes welled up with tears. Gnomes slowly came out from a nearby bush with their hats off. Then one by one, the Daroch lined up by Malachi’s grave. Each of them used a paw to place the dirt over Malachi’s lifeless body as they passed by. Caoilainn waited until all of her people had their turn before stalking up to the grave. She took the cool brown dirt into her paw and let it slide through her claws and into the grave. She looked up as the sun started to rise and in unison her and all of her people bowed. Their brother was now at peace.

  Cail and Braelyn arrived back Othniel shortly after sunrise to find the city empty.

  “Malachi’s being put to rest,” Braelyn murmured as she surveyed the area.

  “We will avenge his death,” Cail hissed, “We cannot fail our brother or our people.”

  Braelyn gently touched his shoulder. “We won’t. We’ll find them and vengeance will be ours.”

  They both turned to a light swooshing sound coming towards them. Caoilainn’s robe trailed behind her as she approached them.

  “Have you found anything?” Caoilainn asked as she reached them.

  Caoilainn looked at Braelyn. Her face was streaked with dirt and her silver hair had debris throughout it. Braelyn’s blue eyes wandered over to Cail before replying. “No.”

  Caoilainn hung her head. “Lucy only has eighteen hours left before she starts going through the change,” she whispered. She looked back up at Cail and Braelyn. “What strategy did you and the Dragomir take in your search efforts?”

  “Landyn and Chloe said that the Haemon would most likely be in the United States, hidden in a cavern somewhere. We split up and went in four directions. Landyn went south, Chloe went west, Braelyn went north, and I went east,” Cail said.

  “Good. How far did you get?” Caoilainn asked.

  “That’s the thing,” Braelyn said as she looked at Caoilainn. “There’s no scent for us to pick up. The Haemon came in, took the girl, and vanished. The area we need to search is too great for the limited time that we have.”

  “We need all of our people to help in the search,” Cail stated as he ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair. “Chloe and Landyn had to stop searching before sunrise or they’d have ended up being overcooked, if you know what I mean.”

  Caoilainn nodded. “Let’s go talk to our people. There’s much to get done,” Caoilainn said as she glided past them.

  Caoilainn stopped as she came across Bran. “Sound the bell to let everyone know that I need to speak with them.”

  “Yes, your highness,” Bran said as he bowed before he scurried down the hall.

  Caoilainn arrived in the middle of Othniel as the bell chimed three times. She walked up the white marble steps with Cail and Braelyn. They looked across the room and waited for it to finish filling up. People flowed in from every direction.

  “It’s been a sad day for our people,” Caoilainn said once everyone had arrived. “Cail and Braelyn have come back from their search needing more help to find our brother’s murderer. Who here’s willing to hunt down the filth that took his life?”

  Every hand rose up in unison and Caoilainn nodded. “We need everyone to
part and spread out across the land to help search,” she said. “We’ve been told that the Haemon will be hidden in a cavern somewhere in the United States and that’s where our search will start.” She paused as she looked into the faces of her people. “Are you ready?”

  Cheers went up in the crowd.

  “For Malachi!” Caoilainn yelled as she rose up a fist.

  “For Malachi!” the crowd roared as they flashed from the room.

  Chapter 20

  Ashton woke up after a restless sleep. He felt the sun set and he tried to reach out to Lucy with his mind. Nothing. It was as if he’d lost her all over again. He walked towards Talmadge’s chamber and knocked on Talmadge’s door.

  “Come in, Ashton,” Talmadge said.

  “Have they found anything yet?” Ashton asked as he opened the door and entered the room.

  Talmadge shook his head. “No. Nothing.”

  Caoilainn flashed into the room and Ashton looked over at her. Her skin had a green tint to it and there were dark circles under her eyes as she stumbled towards Talmadge. Talmadge rushed over and took Caoilainn in his arms.

  “Caoilainn?” Talmadge asked as he softly stroked her face “Are you ok?”

  Ashton looked at Talmadge as he held Caoilainn in his arms. Talmadge’s face had softened as he brushed the wisps of hair from her face.

  “I’m fine,” Caoilainn whispered as she smiled up at Talmadge. “I’m just tired. Nothing more.”

  “You were out searching for her,” Talmadge said.

  “I couldn’t just sit by and wait,” Caoilainn murmured, tears sparkling in her amethyst eyes. “It was driving me insane. I at least felt like I was doing something,” she said. “Our little girl is out there and none of us can find her.”

  “Shhh,” Talmadge soothed as he hugged Caoilainn to him. “Everything will be ok. We’ll find her.”

  “Maybe we just need to search the local area again for any more clues,” Ashton said. “Maybe we missed something.”

  “We can give it a shot,” Talmadge said as he picked Caoilainn up in his arms and gently laid her down on his bed and looked at her. “You, however, are going to get some rest.”

  Caoilainn nodded and closed her eyes.

  “Go meet with Braelyn, Cail, Chloe, and Landyn” Talmadge said as he walked over and sat down in a chair. “Tell them we’re going to search locally for any clue to where they may have gone.”

  Ashton nodded and rushed out of the room.

  “Hey, what’s going on?” Jayde asked as Ashton passed by her.

  “I need to find Chloe and Landyn,” Ashton said as he looked back at Jayde. “We’re going to get everyone to search the local area again for any clues.

  Jayde darted forward and followed Ashton. “Chloe and Landyn were meeting in Chloe’s room before they leave,” she said as she caught up to him. “I just finished speaking with Chloe a few minutes ago and she was waiting for Landyn.”

  “Thanks,” Ashton said as he glanced over at her and smiled.

  Ashton stopped in front of Chloe’s door and knocked.

  “Come in,” Chloe yelled.

  Ashton and Jayde walked into the room and found Chloe and Landyn, bent over an antique table as they looked over a map of the United States.

  “There’s been a slight change in plans,” Ashton said as he walked towards them. “We need to comb the local area for any clues before looking any further,” he said. “There’s too much area to cover and not enough time.”

  “We were just discussing our action plan and that was already in it,” Landyn said as he stood up. “We’re just waiting on Braelyn and Cail to get here to let them know where to look.”

  Cail and Braelyn flashed into the room.

  “We’ve searched all day today and have come up with nothing,” Cail said as he looked from Ashton to Landyn. “All of our people spread out and searched several states. We couldn’t pick up Lucy’s scent anywhere.”

  “We don’t need this anymore,” Braelyn said as she handed the pink shirt to Ashton. “All of our people know Lucy’s scent now.”

  “We’re going to bring the search back locally,” Landyn said as he rolled up the map. “Tell your people to spread out and search the surrounding counties. I’ll search around the human boy’s home. Braelyn will search the area surrounding Lucy’s home,” he looked at everyone in the room. “Chloe will investigate the area around Lucy’s school and Cail will search the remaining area in the county.”

  “I’ll search Lucy’s bedroom again,” Ashton said. “If you find anything, you know where to find me.”

  Landyn nodded as Ashton dissipated. “Let’s hope we find something,” Landyn said as the rest of the group broke up and headed out to begin the search again.

  Chapter 21

  Ophelia looked around the hall before slipping into Karver’s room. Soft snores filled the room as she walked over to the large bed. Her eyes narrowed as she glared down that the girl. The girl’s pale skin and scrawny arms made Ophelia’s skin crawl. She shook her head in disgust. How could they think this feeble girl will be more powerful than her?

  “I guess I’ll just have to fix that,” Ophelia whispered. She climbed up onto the bed and straddled the girl as she slid her fingers around the girl’s neck. Ophelia jerked her hands back and screamed as her hands caught fire. She flew off the bed and moved away from the girl. Ophelia’s eyes widened as she looked down her hands. The flesh had been melted down to the bone and burn marks seared the skin around the wound. Ophelia paced around the girl as she glared over at the girl’s unmoving body.

  She spun around as the door creaked open.

  “What are you doing, Ophelia?” Jaymes hissed as he grabbed her grabbed her by the shoulders and stared into her black eyes. “I think everyone in the caves heard your scream.”

  “I’m not doing anything,” Ophelia said as she hid her hands. “I was just checking to see if you were actually able to get the girl,” she said as she shrugged her shoulders and tried to move away from him. “Obviously you did, so I’ll be leaving.”

  “You’re lying,” Jaymes said as he grabbed one of Ophelia’s hands from behind her back as she tried to pass by him. He glanced down at the palm of her hand. Several black marks were seared into it. “What happened to your hand?”

  ““If you want to know what happened to my hand,” Ophelia hissed as she jerked her hand from his. “go touch the girl and find out for yourself.”

  “You know Karver doesn’t like liabilities, Ophelia,” Jaymes murmured as he pulled something out of his black coat pocket. It glinted under the light as he walked towards her.

  “What are you doing?” Ophelia asked as she took a step back.

  “Taking care of the liability,” Jaymes hissed as he grabbed Ophelia to him and injected the needle into her leg.

  She screamed as the burning liquid entered her blood stream. “What did you put in me?”

  “I thought about this long and hard,” Jaymes said as he released her. “What’d be the perfect way to kill you?” he said as he tapped his chin and looked at Ophelia. “Then it came to me. Do you remember the Legend of the Dogwood, ‘phelia?”

  Ophelia’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened as she stared down at her leg.

  “Such an innocent looking flower,” Jaymes said as he pulled a small bottle from his other pocket. He gazed at the flower. It was shaped in the form of a cross: two long and two short petals. In the center of the outer edge of each petal there were brown nail prints that were stained with red to represent the blood of Christ. “To think that this could end any vampire’s life by injecting it into their bloodstream...”

  “You didn’t,” she rasped as the blood in her leg started to boil. She clutched her leg and dropped to the floor.

  “I did and it was my pleasure,” Jaymes said as he walked away from her and sat on the bed near Lucy. “I suggest you enjoy the last three hours of your existence……if you can.”

  Ophelia glared at Jaymes. “You
won’t get away with this,” she groaned.

  Jaymes got up from the bed and started walking towards Ophelia. “Oh, but I will”

  Ophelia dissipated from the room and reappeared in the woods by the girl’s house. She lay on the cool forest floor as pain rocked through her. Electric pulses sizzled through her veins. She screamed and her back rose up off the ground for a second before collapsing back. The dark woods were eerily silent as Ophelia gasped in pain. She gritted her teeth together and looked up. The moon’s silver rays shone down through a break in the trees.