by Debbie Behan
Her mind went into overdrive as to how to solve the war now. He knew her. She knew him. Could they take up arms against each other or would Hades take over the soft side again and destroy the endearing man she knew him to be?
Nathan snatched her up in his arms in a rush to have her back inside the house. It left her head spinning and once inside, he stood her on unsteady feet.
‘You right Cait?’ He held her elbow and with the other hand tapped his earpiece. ‘She’s safe, let Rory know.’
The alarm ceased its noise, and the quiet gave Caitlin time to gather her wits. Jarvis bent, concerned to see the stress in her, and rubbed her back briskly. His worried features and soft words were welcoming. ‘You’re okay now kiddo, it’s okay, you’re home.’ He gradually calmed her just as Axon and Rory shimmered into view in front of her. Rory pushed him aside to get to her. Not being aware of how messed up she was he wrapped his arms around her. ‘Thank goodness you’re alive. What happened? How come he let you go?’ His eyes reddened with unshed tears. ‘I was right, you were okay. God Caitlin, we never thought we’d see you again.’
Now in Rory’s embrace Caitlin didn’t just cry, but sobbed sadly, confused and unable to pull herself together to answer him. Her eyes opened at one stage and saw Axon. Missing him her arms went out to him. She blubbered and wept for him, the heartache real that he might not understand why she had decided not to come home. Would he forgive her? Had he trusted her? All this sadness she had created and yet it was for nothing. She had lost a dear friend, maybe ruined the relationship with these two men and hadn’t managed to stop the war and was heartbroken.
Rory poured shots of vodka that they took eagerly while they looked for an ounce of humour to settle the emotional rollercoaster. After the third, she calmed and Axon pulled her down onto the sofa to talk. He held her so tight Caitlin was breathless and got Rory to give him another one. ‘I’m not going anywhere. They can’t get me in here.’ She kissed his lips. That set him off and he disappeared with her, taking her to their room and kissing her back, with fear and urgency. The reality he still loved her lessened her sadness.
‘Sorry.’ He released her. He sensed she was elsewhere in her thoughts. It was winter and the fire in his room reminded her of the nights she spent with Jett. Memories of the cold planet flooded her thoughts but for a moment, long enough to have Axon confused. She covered it by giving him a cheerful smile. ‘I wasn’t expecting that,’ she kidded him.
‘Come, you must be exhausted, sit with me for a while.’ He shook off the unresponsive kiss he got from her.
‘We were beginning to give up; thought he might have turned you.’
She stared. ‘Jett would never do that.’
His arm dropped from her. The defensive straightening of her body and something more he saw in her eyes, had warning bells go off in him. ‘You slept with him didn’t you. He has won.’
‘No!’ She looked indignant.
‘I have been beside myself with jealousy! Wondering.’
She put her fingers to his lips.’ ‘Hush now, that’s ridiculous. Yes, he stole me from you but only to kill me. Somehow I won him over and he became Jett again.’ She explained the predicament he was in with Melita and how she’d come up with an idea to cover and warm his kingdom. ‘He asked me to stay and help him and I agreed. It was while we worked on the project that something happened between us. We became friends, close friends.’
Axon straightened, not taking the news well. ‘I kept imagining you sleeping with him, but hoped you were the girl I fell for. I love you, Cait. I thought you knew that. He is your enemy, our enemy. There is no future for either of you.’
Caitlin rolled her shoulder, trying to un-stress. ‘I said friend! And I know it’s over. Calyx saw to that. Jett ran scared, as he will be in so much trouble with his family next time I am up there and they see that I’m still alive.’ She sighed, and explained. Axon listened carefully without comment. ‘He hates me now and I have disappointed you.’
‘Cait, my beautiful Cait, I am so sorry I jumped to conclusions. I should know you better than that, and I do, so please accept me being a pig-headed, jealous sod.’
She wiped sad tears.
‘It sounds like you did the best you could. What happens from now on is out of your hands and you must wipe Jett from your thoughts. He is evil itself. You were a captive and at the end of the day, he has only let you go because his sneaky underhanded plan to have you all to himself for whatever-the-hell reason has been uncovered. He will not return, nor was he a true friend or he would have brought you home to clear your stay with him.’
‘Would you have let me go with him?’
‘Hell no! Never! We have plans in place and the father and his sinister sons will never touch a hair on your head, ever. I can promise you that. It is the last time Jett or any one of his brothers will get anywhere near you for eternity.’
It sat uneasily with Caitlin, as neither he nor the team would ever understand what she accomplished or still wished to. Yes, Hades was evil, but Jett was kind, considerate, a friend. She smiled politely, her mind going into overdrive as to how she would ever mend such a rift between the two worlds. Her efforts to explain fell on deaf ears. She knew if Jett’s family found out about her, he would face the same distaste, hatred. ‘Please don’t leave just yet, stay a little longer. I have missed you.’ His hand had gone out for hers as she rose, and his eyes pleaded.
‘Yes, it has been too long and I want to, but the rest of the team will be gathered downstairs by now waiting to see I’m all right. I’m also sure there is much paperwork to be filled out and filed.’ She kissed him lightly on the lips and pulled at his hand. ‘Come on boss, there will be plenty of time for us to canoodle now I’m home.’
Reluctantly Axon went with her. She could tell he was upset with being let down, but she needed to think and heal her heart that ached for – for what? She had no idea why she hadn’t just fallen into his arms. Wasn’t that what she wanted, had wanted all this time; Axon’s love? One thing she did know was that it was unwise to go there in her confused state.
Throughout dinner, Caitlin’s nerves were on edge as the team drilled her extensively about her stay with the notorious villain, Hades. That was the way they referred to him and even though they gave her accolades for the miracle of her survival, Caitlin could see no miracle and still felt terribly disheartened. Her chance to win the war peacefully was over. She talked until exhausted, and Axon finally insisted she go and rest.
The sun shone in the window and she rolled over to find her bed covers on the floor. Pillows lay as if tossed over the other side of the room from a restless night’s sleep but she had no recollection of that, and nor did she know why she hadn’t been woken. By the light that streamed into the far window, she could tell it was mid-afternoon. With a heave of her body and a groan of a head that throbbed, she showered in record time and started out the door to find out where she should be.
The stairs to the tower she took two at a time, her mind heavily on Jett. She did feel a bit better this morning and smiled at the familiar surroundings. Even though there was a part of him that continued to tug at her inner self, she had to focus and forget him. He had chosen his path and it didn’t include her anymore. She just hoped he was happy and finished his project so his wife could be there for him.
A dig in her pocket found the ear-pod she once wore but it proved useless and could hear nothing. The door to the tower was open, the room empty. What the! Where was everyone? Her code didn’t work, why? Her memory intact, she entered Rory’s code she had watched him enter many times. She figured Axon and Rory had gone to work, but where were the others? Was there no threat anymore? They should have told her last night. She grabbed a juice from the fridge. The computers automatically switched on and as her head went back to take a sip, she spotted something. With a calculation of the distance, she sighted in the satellites and now in focus could easily see the Macro Riders. Her team were out there without her, battling a
n out of control star. Why didn’t they want me to help? Was she not part of the team anymore? Had they labelled her untrustworthy for fraternising with the enemy?
Frustrated and annoyed at the position this had put her in with her friends she almost switched everything off. Her inclination was to go back to bed and to hell with them. A final glance and to go crook at them one last time stopped her nonsense. Far in the distance, two inflamed stars headed their way, too far out for them to have seen.
‘Someone should have been here!’ She scowled at their stupidity for leaving her out of it. They were a team and needed her and it was then it dawned on her why she wasn’t included. The fear of having me captured again.
‘This has to stop!’ she called out to them, and tapped the screen to where she needed to be. Her body trembled with worry as she ran downstairs and out the front door to the horse stables. Her legs dropped under her as she sank to the soft grass while she remembered her horse was still at Jett’s. Only wolves were visible as she scanned the paddock in the hope another horse had been brought up to the home world of Ara. She tried to see if she could spot them, torn whether to send up a projectile of her own. Her naked eye, even though super strengthened with magic, was unable to depict the exact marker to hit, as the team fought the death star that spiralled out of control. They were in her line of sight. What if I hit one of them?
Help from a Friend
Caitlin’s eyes squinted against the brightness as the fight came closer. She had just made a decision when a crackling sound that she heard when someone powerful transported closely and a horse’s snort, turned her head.
‘Looking for this?’ Jett held the reins of her horse.
‘Shargan!’ She jumped up and hugged Jett. ‘You came back?’
‘Why aren’t you with them? You could have ridden with any one of them.’
‘I guess they don’t trust I won’t be kidnapped again. Or maybe thought I wouldn’t fight against you. But enough of their hang ups, I thought I lost you as my friend forever.’
‘I’m here aren’t I?’ He looked almost boyish.
She smiled and looked up. ‘Damn them. It was a dirty trick to leave me behind either way, and I’m not happy.’ Her eyebrows drew together, and the look almost put a grin on his face.
‘Well if you’re going to save them, I would advise you to quit chatting and get moving. They’re in big trouble out there.’
‘I know. I was watching and came down here to grab a horse but there weren’t any in the stalls or in the paddock. I thought they would have had a back-up at least.’
‘Maybe they hid them from you so you couldn’t follow.’ He lifted her up on Shargan. Her transformation surprised him and the bright light forced him to step back slightly while the magic altered the image he had of her.
‘You are a real vision when you go into battle Glow.’
Caitlin sucked in her breath at his warmth. He had changed so much since the day Hades stole her with the intent to kill. ‘I don’t understand why you help me. I am fighting against your family.’
‘This is true, but your own family are losing the battle out there and if I was about to lose one of my family members, I would hope you would be friend enough to do all you could to help me too.’
‘You know I would.’ She put out her hand to him. ‘I will when that time comes.’
He held her hand. ‘I believe you would. Now go! Help your other friends. Or I have wasted my effort.’
‘Thanks Jett, you’re the best.’ She blew him a kiss as his figure faded. Shargan moved swiftly, the mare’s wings strong and swept out gracefully as her horse lifted them from the surface and headed for the coordinates she had already communicated.
Closer to the action it was apparent why the other two missiles were kept hidden. The magnitude of squealing, gas and flares that shot out from the surface of the aberrant first mass made it all most impossible to see or hear what was coming behind. Parts of the exploding nova death star shot out expectantly. The danger from the blazing hot iron-like shards caused the team to duck and weave in an effort to avoid them. Caitlin’s adrenalin surged with the scene, and her power crackled from her as she flew to the scene to save her team. Her concentration was on the two inflamed stars behind the one they battled. A controlled hand went up and let out a calculated stream of ear-piercing energy towards them. The electrical feed engulfed the balls of molten rock and acting as a slingshot, hurled the two stars in a spiral towards each other. The collision released a tidal force which instantly ripped each star apart. The eruption left a gash in the atmosphere and both collapsed into a big black hole. Rory waited for Caitlin to cap the offending abyss before he opened up a nearby portal that led to outer space. The black hole vanished as the portal snapped shut.
Her power exhausted, she sat and watched as the team took control of the massive star they battled. It too was dead in the sky; the remaining danger came from the exploded shards that sped towards Ara. The team immediately switched to clean up mode, horse and rider quickly encased in illuminated light, as the action put them in a spin that left them a blur of colourful electrical surges. The bolts they projected smashed and pulverized anything in their path. The only remains looked as colourful as they did, a fairy dust glitter that floated delicately down to the surface of their home world like soft flakes of snow. It always amazed her, the exquisiteness of the team, as her method was quick and deadly. She shrugged. Show offs.
Once over, they headed for her. Rory instructed her to stay still, and they would cover her with their magic until they got back to the surface. In a swirl of colour, very similar to that when she was in the clouds, they escorted her home. Let them try to steal you from us now; our new kung fu is strong.’ He winked at her.
On landing, Caitlin felt smothered with her over-protective friends. What sort of life is this to be? Axon waited and she dismounted and headed for him. She would give him a piece of her mind if this was his doing. That’s if she could get a word in edgeways, as he was already hurling questions at her.
‘How did you know about the other two death stars? And where did Shargan come from? I gave orders to leave the other horses in the far paddock so you had to stay home and rest.’ His temper was evident. Her eyes were alight with disappointment in him as she answered. Her voice was as calm as she could keep it. Why wasn’t he just happy all had ended well?
‘I had a little help from a friend. I saw the other two stars hurtling towards them from up in the tower. The guys had trouble with the first one so I didn’t know how they would have handled the others that encroached on them. The stupid headset didn’t communicate that far and to send up an explosive blast looked too dangerous. Once exploded, the debris may have hit them. All I can say is thank goodness Jett arrived with my horse.’
Axon blinked in shock and his features became almost porcelain. ‘If he thinks he can just come here and mess with your head anytime he wants he can think again. He is the enemy Caitlin. Destroy him! That is an order!’
‘But – ‘
‘No buts! He had his chance to change for you and, didn’t! He chose to oppose us, take up arms against us, so this, whatever it is,’ he waved his hand in the air, ‘ends now! That goes for the rest of you too. If Hades comes here again I want him dead.’ He vanished and left her with her mouth open, so much unsaid.
Head hung, seething with unshed emotions, Caitlin helped put the horses away before they made their way back inside. Her mood was sullen and not up to talking, she went straight to her room. The rest of the team had nodded and all agreed with Axon. Not one of them came to offer her any advice; nor did they care enough to see if she wanted anything to eat or drink. Her mood continued to escalate and upset at everyone, she paced back and forth. Her energy plummeted to zero and, finally fatigued, she gave in and slept.
She could hear Axon’s voice, his footsteps and the door hinge squeak as he checked on her after work. In no mood to face him, kept her eyes closed and pretended to be asleep. His plea to
discuss what went on that afternoon was met with silence so he left.
A night of restless sleep did nothing to lull her fury and again, she kept her eyes closed tight when the door open and warm lips met with her cheek as he whispered goodbye. Overnight the plan to escape for the day ran rampant in her mind. They were wrong about Jett and he had to be forewarned. After that, an order was an order and Caitlin would never see him again.
Out of bed, the intention was to get ready and sneak out, but instead her feet paced as her mind kicked into overdrive. A commitment to sever ties with Jett would not stop them freaking out every time an active mission was given to her. Would this goodbye change anything? She didn’t think so. Her future looked bleak; the reality was they would send her out less and less. Her worthiness as a powerful immortal was in question. Why was it her, only, that the gods hated? Panic-stricken thoughts plagued the thrill of being home and, for the first time ever she wished that her powers were more like her team mates’. The sadness that friends that once cared and now had no trust in her, hurt more than anything. She cried most of the morning, ignoring the knock on the door and breakfast call.
By midday Caitlin woke thirsty and hungry, her mood a little better. Weak from lack of nourishment her clothes were left in a heap on the floor as she slipped on a dressing gown. The house was quiet. No doubt they were on another call out and it offended her not to be included. Sulky or not she would have gone if asked. Well to hell with them! At least there would be nobody here to stop her departure. A quick bite to eat before I go find Jett, she consoled herself.