Caia looked back at Lucien in a panic. “Lucien, change!”
The bolt of white heat hit him before he even had a chance to process her words and sent him soaring with incredible force straight through the pantry door, wood splintering everywhere as he collided with the floorboards.
“Lucien!” Her eyes burned with tears as he lay unconscious.
“Don’t worry, he’s not dead.” Ethan grunted as he punched another hand through the wall. “Yet.” He grinned as if they were friends, and then turned to Lars. “What are you waiting for? Kill the girl.” He pointed at Jaeden.
“No,” Caia whispered, and just as she felt her own building swell of white heat spring like a root from her tingling toes up her calves and over her thighs, the kitchen window flew apart and into the room as a large lykan burst through it and lunged straight for Lars’s jugular. His screamed was cut off by the sickening spurt of blood that shot up out of his neck and painted the ceiling above him.
“Ryder.” Caia breathed in relief as he mauled the magik to pieces within seconds.
Enraged, her uncle broke through her shield entirely and one of his own shot up around her and himself, immediately blocking Ryder out. He growled and snarled as he bounced up against the wall of energy enclosing her with her uncle.
“Not well done at all, Caia,” Ethan tutted, shaking his head and prowling around her like a tiger taunting its prey. “I must say I’m horrified to hear that you feel a Midnight’s trace. That you could feel my plans for you…” He chuckled but without humor, his eyes still as soulless as ever. “In fact, you’re my worst fear realized. I should make this quick.” He scratched his chin as if thinking, and then stopped, his gaze drifting over her body. “But I won’t.”
He snapped his fingers, never taking his eyes from her, and Lucien was suddenly behind him, her Alpha’s arms cuffed to chains, chains that dangled him from the ceiling like meat on a hook. Ryder growled and snapped viciously, his fur trembling visibly with the frustration of not being able to get to his friend.
Ethan laughed at the horror on her face and turned to have a look at Lucien. “You know my mother died in a similar situation.”
“You touch one hair on-”
“Oh please,” he scoffed, “Enough with the threats you pint-sized harpy.”
Caia wanted to cry looking at Lucien. He groaned, coming to, his silver eyes finding her, eliciting an involuntary noise of pain from her. She made a move towards him only to bang up against another of Ethan’s shields.
“Now, now Caia,” he taunted, “Be good.”
“I’ll kill you.”
“What did I say about the threats? Hmm? And just so you know... you won’t kill me. Not even close. In fact, I’m going to kill all your friends.” He flicked his hand elegantly around the room and suddenly Jaeden and Lucien’s heads were snapped back by invisible hands. Jaeden cried out making Caia flinch.
“Stop it,” she demanded, trying to hold onto some of her cool so her brain might function enough to come up with a plan.
Ethan shook his head. “Never. Once they’re gone, you and I are going to have a little show down before I go and slaughter the rest of these mangy mutts.” He sighed as if he had just eaten a very satisfying meal and turned an evil eye on her. “What is that death match you idiots have...?”
Caia shuddered in offence and rage. “Lunarmorte,” she supplied regally.
He grunted at her haughtiness. “That’s the one. My goddess... so uncivilized. Ripping your own people apart for a title.”
She snarled at him, “Isn’t that what you are doing just now?”
“No!” He spat back viciously. “You’re a dog polluting the gifts of Gaia!”
“I’m your niece.”
“No. Your blood is nothing like mine. Blood of low-bred, vicious animals that threaten Gaia’s creation, that threaten the delicate balance of our existence with mankind, runs in your veins. Lykan... vampyre. What’s the difference? You are all the same. A blight on the world and a danger to humans.”
A new fury, or perhaps an ancient one, flushed across Caia’s skin. “We’re not a danger to humans. We have been civilized for centuries. It’s you and your Coven who endanger the world with this continual mindless war!” She fumed, surprised by her bravery considering Lucien was dangling before her like a carcass. “And you can paint it anyway you want Uncle... your blood still runs in my veins.”
Satisfaction spread through her as his jaw clenched, his fists curled into white knots. It seemed like forever as he glared at her in disgust. She could feel Lucien’s desperation building at the same time, the burning of Lars’ blast spreading up his right side. She felt Ryder’s control slipping and Jaeden’s numbness returning, like once more she had given up, waiting for death to finally come.
No!
“You know.” Ethan drew her attention again. He looked calm again. “In a way you’re right. Why don’t I finish with these mongrels?” He turned on the Alpha and Lucien groaned. Caia could only watch in dread as a flame shaped like a knife burst open in front of Lucien and scored across his torso slowly and painfully.
Caia began to sob, leaning against the invisible shield and gulping for breath as the smell of burning flesh hit her nose. “Stop it,” she managed to plead. He ignored her, far more interested in the lykan who refused to scream for him. Tears of agony tracked Lucien’s cheeks but not a syllable was uttered from between his clenched teeth.
He shrugged and turned back to her. “If I had the time I would enjoy breaking that one. But I’m far too eager to get down to a Lunarmorte of our very own.”
Caia tried to calm her sobbing as she met Lucien’s eyes. She had done this to them all. How could he look at her like that, still fearing for her, when she had done this to them all! She couldn’t even get out of this damn shield to douse whatever fire Ethan produced with her water. She searched the room, looking for anything, something to help her think… and then her eyes caught the sight of the moon through the broken window and it seemed as if a rush of wind rustled down from it and into the kitchen to carry through the shield and stroke her skin. Caia blinked.
It had come through the shield.
She closed her eyes and began pushing against the energy Ethan used with her own – gold meeting ice. Wasn’t it funny, she thought distantly, that he should taste like ice when he’s a fire magik and I like hot gold when I’m a water magik? She pushed. Hard. Hard enough to feel a blood vessel pop above her eye. She ignore it and continued, allowing the sounds of Ryder’s clawing and snapping inside her, giving her the animalistic fury of the lykan that she needed right now.
“It’s not going to work, Caia,” Ethan sighed. Her eyes flew open at the sound of metal clanging and she watched in abject fear as Ethan tapped a sharp long metal spike against the wall. She had no idea where it had come from.
“You should say goodbye, Caia.” He let go of the spike and it danced in the air in front of him before tilting horizontally, spike head pointing towards Lucien’s heart. “Say goodbye to the dog you love… before I pierce his unworthy heart.”
The spike stilled directly in front of Lucien’s chest, inching slowly closer. Her breath caught, her eyes locked on his. No. No. No no no no no.
“Pity you can’t say goodbye to your precious pack but that just makes this all a little sweeter.”
“NO!” she screamed as he pulled the spike back as if to plunge.
He turned back to look at her, his eyebrow raised questioningly. “Something to say before the end?”
She nodded and glanced back outside, feeling that white heat in her stomach, in her chest, crawl up her throat, claw her face and blow her hair back with a force. She didn’t know how she must have looked, what her uncle saw in her eyes or on her body, but his mouth gaped in disbelief and his eyes blinked in fear.
“It’s a full moon.”
“What?” he whispered, stumbling back, and she felt the power spark like electricity between her fingers. She looked back up at him and smiled.
She breathed, “Lunarmorte.”
May the best Alpha win.
The heat exploded from her, blasting out of her seeping veins, blinding her with its deep and pure white.
Her head hit something hard.
Darkness descended.
29 - Sebastian
“Caia.” Someone shook her and her eyes rolled back before opening. She felt exhausted. As if someone had taken all the muscles out of her body and left her limp and useless.
“What?” she croaked and tried to open her eyes.
“Caia.”
“Lucien?”
“Yeah.”
She opened her eyes at the same time she tried to sit up. Lucien hissed in pain as he helped her and her eyes widened on his wounds.
Ethan!
She whipped her head around to see Lars, grotesquely dead on the floor, a nak*d Ryder lifting Jae into his arms. His eyes found Caia and they seemed blank with shock.
Ethan was nowhere to be seen.
Her gaze fell on the spot he had stood and felt her stomach turn at the sight. Correction. Ethan was everywhere. Literally. Pulp blood and gore lay across the floor and over the counters. He was even stuck to the walls and ceiling.
“Did I?” she whispered in disbelief, her eyes finding Lucien.
He nodded, speechless.
Alive. She cried out and pressed a hand against his cheek without thinking. He was alive, she almost laughed. They were all alive. They had done it.
“We have to go.” Ryder marched by them, holding Jae as if she weighed nothing. “Sebastian’s badly hurt.”
And like that her joy died.
Despite his pain, Lucien helped her to her feet and out of the house. Ryder waited at the edge of the woods with Jaeden and when he was assured they were behind him he began to lead them back to the truck.
“Wait, where’s Seb and Aidan and Christian?” She stumbled, clutching to Lucien.
“At the truck. I told them to go on while I made sure you guys were OK.”
It seemed to take forever to get there. Lucien changed to heal himself quicker and shot off ahead of them, following the scent of the others back to his truck.
Caia couldn’t speak. Ryder didn’t speak. But every time Jae whimpered Caia would stroke her hair.
“We’re nearly there,” Ryder grunted.
Caia nodded. If she could have run she would have. To get to Sebastian.
“What happened?” she managed eventually, hoping to Artemis Sebastian wasn’t nearly as badly hurt as Ryder had made out.
“The daemon was tougher. Fought back even with all four of us on him. He sliced Sebastian open pretty good. Too much damage for him to change so he could heal.”
Caia gagged and tried to slow her escalating heart rate. “But he’ll be OK?”
His silence was heartbreaking.
Caia began to run, stumbling and cursing at her stupid muscles that had decided to give up on her just when she needed them.
Finally she burst out of the woods and slammed against the truck.