“Nothing.”
It was like none of it had ever happened. Just an empty basement, clean of any activities. Four walls, a ceiling and a floor.
“It’s all gone. No mess,” Caia told her as she climbed back up the stairs. “I have no idea what that thing was that Marion gave me.” She glanced down at her watch. “Come on we better go. Marion is opening the portal in ten minutes.”
They made their way back out of the club, Caia replacing the boards and the padlock while Phoebe stood guard. Just as silently as they arrived, they returned to the spot they had come out at, at Notre Dame. She sidled towards the entrance of the cathedral, gazing up at its two towers, wishing she could step inside and disappear behind its arched doorway, to curl up in what promised to be a mystical haven. Could she hide in there, in the arms of another god?
Phoebe tapped her on the shoulder and she half-turned to see the portal begin to open on the dark street.
No. The war would still be out there, taking innocent lives and perpetuating into eternity. There was no hiding for her. She had a job to do.
There were a few humans strolling together, and a cafe was still open with people outside at the little tables drinking coffee and eating dessert.
“I’m going to cloak us so they won’t see us disappear,” Caia warned Phoebe and shielded them both as Mordecai had taught her in glamour class. And just like that, they stepped back into the Center, leaving behind a loathsome sight that only Caia would ever carry in her memories.
19 - Sweet Midnight
“Argh, I knew this was coming,” Dimitri groaned, his face crumpled in defeat.
Ryder raised an eyebrow expectantly, his heart hammering in his chest. “Is that a yes?” He glanced between Dimitri and Julia, knowing his hope was out in plain view, so easy to shatter with one little word.
The thought of never having Jaeden in his life was excruciating now. Despite their attempts to not see each other over the last few days, they seemed to be connected inextricably. She had explained that there had been no more nightmares since the night he had suggested they might be mates. She had demonstrated how much control she was gaining on her telekinesis, arriving at his apartment exuberant and pleased with her progress over at Lucien’s. Since Vil and Laila’s arrival he hadn’t been able to leave the apartment, so Jae had come over at the end of the day bringing food for everyone, and catching him up on her activities. They had only grown closer, but he hadn’t been able to relieve her of her fears over Laila. The food she brought for Vil and his girlfriend was handed over quickly before she departed for his bedroom, the room furthest away from the room he had given to his guests. He, on the other hand, had gotten to know them as much as he could over the last 48 hours. Vil was a quiet, staid, young warlock who was extremely protective of the fragile creature who never left his side. He had told Ryder bits and pieces of his life growing up in a household where his elder brothers were respected soldiers in the Center’s First Unit. Fighting wasn’t really in his blood, in fact he couldn’t quite wrap his head around this inane war, as he called it, and while home for his break he had come across Laila. She had escaped from a Midnight army base under Ethan’s control. She wouldn’t discuss what had happened to her there but it was enough to cement a loathing in her blood for the Midnights. Vil had found her starving to death and had hidden her and coaxed her back to health. During which, they had fallen in love, and she had convinced him he should take her back to the Center so she could learn to fight for the Daylights. Marita had her thrown in the containment center almost immediately. Marita had dismissed him, sure that his had not been an act of disloyalty but naivety, and in the end he had helped her apprehend a Midnight. Vil had been trying to find a way to break her out of the prison ever since, but he didn’t have the power a magik needed to do it and he didn’t trust anyone enough at the Center to help him. And then Caia had come to him, ‘like an angel’ he had described softly, making Ryder smile. The little witch had that effect on people. Caia had said she could feel Laila’s goodness, was adamant the girl posed no threat to the Daylights. She wouldn’t stand back and let the girl suffer. Vil had believed her since he had nowhere else in which to place his faith. And the rest Ryder knew. It was hard to imagine the gentle creature that gazed so adoringly at Vil could cause anyone any harm but he knew how deceptive they could be.
Atia and Adriana Vang had proven that. But Caia believed, and strangely he did too.
Jaeden on the other hand was not so quick to trust.
“Why isn’t Jaeden with you?” Julia asked, seeming amused by his proposal.
He locked eyes with her so she wouldn’t suspect him of lying. “I felt this was something that I ought to do alone, man to... parents.” In truth she was reluctantly watching over his guests at his apartment while he moved their potential mating along a little faster.
Julia swallowed a chuckle, her eyes dancing with delight. “Well I’m all for it.”
Dimitri glared at his wife. “We just got her back.”
“And you think denying her the right to a mating ritual with the man she loves will entice her to stay?” His mate grunted at him.
He pinned Ryder to the wall with his gaze, his nostrils seeming to huff with steam like a bull getting ready to charge. And then, just like that, the air appeared to deflate out of him and he threw his hands up in surrender. “Fine!” he snapped. “You have my blessing to mate with my only daughter... you bastard.”
Ryder whooped jubilantly and grabbed the big guy in a hug. Dimitri huffed and slapped him, hard, on the back, sending him over to Julia who was the next target for his joy.
“Now you have to wait for Lucien,” his soon to be father-in-law reminded him slyly.
Ryder shrugged, his grin refusing to desist. “His return shouldn’t be long now. Then we can get straight to the mating... err... ritual.”
Dimitri glowered red.
“Uh.” Julia giggled nervously. “I think you better leave... Ryder... now... LEAVE!”
He was out the door like lightning, Dimitri’s snarls still snapping at his behind like little angry ghosts.
The witch still made Jaeden uneasy, despite Ryder’s defense of her. Jae knew the girl didn’t look like much, but Midnights were slippery, vicious creatures who knew how to get under the skin. She sat stiffly in a chair by the window, while Vil and Laila snuggled together on the sofa, munching on the snacks Jaeden had brought over with her. The reason why she was here made her smile softly, wondering if Ryder would get the answer they both needed.
“You know you don’t have to be afraid of us,” Vil’s serene voice suddenly penetrated her musings.
Jaeden snapped to alert and grunted, “I’m not afraid of you. Her... not so sure of.”
Laila’s huge blue eyes widened even further as she looked up and over at her. Jaeden felt an unexpected twinge of guilt at the hurt she saw shimmering there.
“I would never hurt anyone,” she whispered.
Vil shushed her, squeezing her closer, soothing her pain.
Why can’t I shrug the guilt? Jae growled at herself, looking back at Laila. The Midnight was still staring at her, and as their eyes locked Jaeden saw something in the magiks that was intimately familiar. Familiar... because that haunted look had once reflected back at her every time she gazed into a mirror. Ryder’s voice echoed in her head.
I’m telling you Jae, they’re OK. Vil seems like a standup guy, and Laila… well she won’t tell anyone, including Vil, what happened to her back at that camp, but I’m telling you it was enough to make her hate them.
“Can I speak with Laila alone?” she suddenly asked, standing over the two of them.
Vil frowned, eyeing her warily. “I don’t think so.”
“I’m not going to hurt her.”
“No, she-”
“It’s OK.” Laila placed a placating hand on his arm and he glanced at her sharply.
“You are sure?”
“Yes.”
“OK. I’ll be down the hall if you need me.” He got up and threw Jaeden a stern, warning look before he left.
She settled on the arm of the sofa, scrutinizing Laila, who had moved back a little from her. “What happened at this camp, this army camp?”
The magik shook her head. “I don’t talk about it.”
“If I’m to trust you I need to know about this camp.”
She shrugged helplessly. “It was... just a camp.”
“Under Ethan’s control?”
“Yes.”
“So...” Jaeden searched for the right phrase. “It was like special ops?”
“What is… special ops?”
“You know, like a government operation designed to... let’s say win a war, when normal tactics aren’t moving things along as nicely as one would like.”
Laila snorted, her ethereal face twisted in disgust. It was the most negative emotion Jaeden had seen her emit. “Yes. You could say it was this special ops you speak of.”
A moment of silence fell between them as Jaeden worked towards posing her next question. She blew out a shaky breath, her voice going husky as her own memories swept through her. “Did it involve torture?”
The witch’s mouth fell open in surprise, her eyes round with torment. “Why...?”
“I’ll take that as a yes then.”
Laila shook her head. “I don’t... I can’t... I-”
“I’ve been there, Laila,” Jae whispered, not even sure why she was telling the girl something so personal. Perhaps she knew it might be the only way to get information from her. “Ethan... personally kept me in a cage. He tortured me. For weeks. Although it felt like years.”
Her young face crumpled in empathy and she reached out to place a cool hand on Jaeden’s wrist. She was surprised by the gesture, for Laila had only allowed Vil near her since their arrival. As her hand withdrew from her, Jaeden’s pain at the memories dissipated, leaving a warm peace lingering in its wake. Relaxing back into the sofa, she smiled sadly at the Midnight. “Is that what happened to you?”
The girl nodded rigidly.
“Why?”
A tear slid down her pale face. “It was a behavioral modification camp for magiks. He took children of magiks from all over. I come from Halmstad, but others came from Grena, Oslo... all over Scandinavia. He told our parents he was going to train us to be an elite force. It was an honor to be chosen. Instead, he used all measures of control - withholding food, brainwashing, all to turn us into an elite force that would only answer to his command, no matter the order.”
“Like daemons.”
Revulsion passed over Laila’s face. “Like daemons. But so much more powerful.”
“Why the torture? Was that part of it?”
She shook her head wildly, and Jaeden was surprised to see an almost smug smile form on her lips. “His men couldn’t break me. So they tortured me in an attempt to subdue me.”
Horror rippled through Jaeden at the thought of what this frangible creature had gone through.