“I’m okay,” I continued. “Honestly. Enjoy the rest of your date. I’ll see you when you get home.”
She hesitated for a moment. I knew she was ready to come home and mother me. But I had given her no reason to run home because I really was at home. So she said her goodbyes and I hung up.
I called Meredith to apologize. She picked up on the first ring.
“Caden, what happened?” Worry was in her voice.
“I’m sorry. I think someone was following me, and I got creeped out, so I ran back home.” It wasn’t a complete lie. After all, I did get creeped out. She might know I was the Venatrix Malorum, but she may not have known about what creatures were out there. Again, I didn’t know, and again, I realized that yes, we did need to talk.
“Did you call the police?”
"No, because I wasn't exactly sure if someone was following me." This time I did lie, feeling queasy again.
"Do you want us to come to get you?"
I paused in thought. I could get picked up and finally told what my friends knew or at least what Meredith knew. But every time today that I had gone out of the house, strange things kept happening to me. I knew I was taking the coward’s way out, but I wanted the break for one more night.
“Tomorrow, Meredith,” I promised.
“Is it because you are still mad at us?”
Actually, I had gotten over that when I had encountered Mr. Hot, but Intense.
“No,” I sighed. “I’m not mad at you guys anymore. I just don’t think I can take much more tonight.”
“Okay. Then tomorrow night. We’ll make dinner and try to make it seem normal.”
“While you guys tell me everything is not quite normal.”
“Yeah…”
I snickered. “Alright. I’ll see you guys tomorrow at school.”
We hung up, and I brought the rest of my school books in the living room. There I finished up my homework and continued my watch until Sera returned home. She looked just as worried when she came through the door as she had when she left, but she didn't ask me about why I seemed so wide-eyed. I didn't want to tell her about my stupid adventure. I was tired of seeing the worried look on her face. So after she settled, I did something that I would never have typically done. I asked her about her date with Mr. Myles. She had taken to her room to change, and I followed her as she put on some night-time sweats.
“How did it go?”
She sat down on her bed.
"Ugh," she rolled her eyes and groaned as she undid her hair. "I told Daniel that it was over."
I was shocked. “Wow. Why?”
She waved her hand, dismissively. “It’s not worth explaining . . . What about you? What happened to you tonight?”
“Nothing,” I lied, shrugging my shoulders as I sat next to her. I hated lying to her. It made my insides twist, and a wave of fatigue washed over me.
She eyed me cautiously. “Really. Nothing worth talking about?” She still didn’t let up her guard.
“Eh. Not really.” I hugged my sister, feeling her comfort as she wrapped her arms around me.
“What’s this about it?” She asked as she put her chin on top of my head.
“I’m tired of feeling scared.”
She hugged me tighter. “I know. I’m tired of feeling worried.”
“I know,” I scowled. “I will try my best to not make you worry.”
She laughed. “Unfortunately, I am always going to worry for you.” She kissed the top of my head. “It’s late and a school night. Go to bed.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I untangled my arms from her and left her room.
Entering my bedroom, I felt a wave of tiredness hit me. I guess it was time for bed, after all, I thought.
After changing into a black tank top and green nylon athletic shorts, I took one last look out the window. I wasn't too sure if I expected Zane to be there or not. Or I didn't know if I wished he was there or not. But I looked anyway. I thought I saw him. Or maybe it was the glow of eyes that I saw, but something was out there. I shivered and crawled into bed. I prayed for the first time since Flora and Martin had died that someone would protect and watch over me. I don't know how long I was awake, but eventually, I was in a state of not quite awake, not entirely dreaming. That's when I felt Flora’s warmth.
After drifting into heavy sleep, I dreamt once again, but this time the darkness didn’t come. But Flora did. She flowed out of the light whispering to me, “you’re safe.” And I did feel safe. I could feel the light, its warmth filling my soul, replacing any parts that the cold had touched that day.
“There is so much I need to know,” I said sluggishly. The dream was so heavy that I couldn’t really function within it.
“Yes, there is much you need to know, my little warrior. But tonight, you just need to sleep." She touched my forehead, and the heaviness sank me further into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter Eighteen
I woke feeling refreshed and almost believing that yesterday had not happened. I didn't have any nightmares, and in fact, I didn't have any dreams. I showered and dressed with a skip in my heart from feeling refreshed, the first time in a long time. And I whistled while walking into the kitchen without a care in the world, where I stopped when Sera brought back reality.
“Finn wants to meet with us after school,” Sera said, in the process of making her usual cup of coffee with her back toward me, facing our Keurig.
My heart stopped, and I felt angry at my illusion evaporating. I packed up my lunch and book bag in silence.
“Did you hear me?” She asked, turning to face me.
“Yes, I heard you. I have nothing to say about it. So, I’ll be with you during tenth period.” I zipped my bookbag closed and yanked it off the counter. Grabbing an apple from the fruit basket, I headed for the door.
“Wouldn’t you feel safer walking with someone?” Sera yelled after me.
“They can’t touch me until the challenge is issued,” I snarled, thinking back on our previous conversation and my encounter with the vampire from last night. The vampire last night didn't lay a hand on me. Although he said that he had decided on team Good… Still…
“No, they can’t kill you until the challenge is issued,” Sera snapped back.
I shrugged a shoulder that I knew she didn’t see and walked out of the house.
I didn’t avoid meeting up with Meredith, but when I did, she wasn’t exactly thrilled that I was pretending yesterday hadn’t happened. I earned a glare from her, especially after I had repeated what Jesse had said to me yesterday about school not being the time or place for this discussion. She made me promise her that tonight we would talk. And it would be perfect since it was Friday night and I could stay as late as I wanted to ask questions. Then I would have the whole weekend to think through everything.
I groaned internally. I would get more information from Finn during tenth period today and then a whole evening introduction of the Mundus Noctis through Meredith’s eyes at her house. There was so much of me that dreaded everything that I would learn and I couldn’t help the annoyance from appearing on my face. She patted my arm reassuringly, and I could almost forget about the Supernatural world as I went about my day. Almost . . . until lunch.
I was at my locker, putting away my school books from the first half of the morning and grabbing my lunch when I saw Nate and Korina approach, joined at the hip as usual lately. Looking at Korina, I was grateful that my preternatural abilities didn’t kick in when I saw that she wasn’t glowing. I think that would have toppled the cake if I had found out that she was "good"; especially since I felt that she was such a horrible human being.
I started wondering if she was perhaps Scelesti, but she didn’t give off that sort of hint either. If only life was that simple. If she were Scelesti, I would be able to . . . What? Kill her? I hadn't been able to kill anything. I may think she was evil, but she was human, and I believed the Powers-That-Be would probably frown upon killing humans.
H
owever, I narrowed my eyes when I saw Nate. He, of course, was haloed and glowing.
Of course, he would be, I remarked sardonically in my head. I already knew he was preternaturally handsome and a good human being. I knew after finding out that Meredith and Jesse were part of this community, that Nate would be too.
"Oh, hey guys," I said, forcing a smile.
“So Meredith said you were going to join us for dinner tonight,” Nate hinted, his eyes lighting up. I didn’t have to know the look on his face and in his eyes that sparked some underlying meaning when dinner with Meredith said it all. He was a part of this for sure.
My heart took a nosedive.
“I didn’t know you would be coming over too.” I couldn’t keep the irritation from my voice. I looked over at Korina, who was barely looking at me and seemed bored with the entire conversation.
“Korina, will you be joining us?” I questioned, wanting to know how far all this went.
“Um, no. I have something better to do.” She didn’t bother to look at me as she answered, shifting impatiently, and inspected her nails. Her response confirmed that she was not a part of this supernatural community.
"Babe, I'm going to grab us a seat." She leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek and finally turned to glare at me as she walked past haughtily toward the lunchroom.
“So, you won’t be joining us today, huh?” I eyed him when Korina was far enough away.
He sighed. "No. I will be sitting with Korina and her group today since, after tonight, I don't think I will be able to hang out with her much."
I raised my eyebrows at his comment and couldn’t help, but look over at Korina, who was looking furiously at us. With all the singular attention he was giving me, it wouldn’t be long before she was going to try threatening me or spreading rumors again. I couldn’t care less. I knew I could hold my own. Definitely for sure this time.
“So, do I get to know anything?” I questioned.
“Meredith said tonight-“
I didn’t even bother to let him finish. I heaved an aggravated sigh, slammed my locker, and walked past him with an ache in my chest. The boy I had loved for so long had been hiding so much from me.
I marched to our lunch table where Meredith and Jesse were talking at the table.
“So, Nate is a part of this?” I questioned angrily, already knowing the answer. Not bothering to sit down, but glaring at them.
“Caden, did you really think he wouldn’t be?” Jesse challenged me back. “Think about it. We knew, what would have been the odds that he didn’t?”
“Were you my friends because you knew who I was or did you want to be my friends in spite of it?” I finally dared the question that had my heart on the verge of breaking.
The two of them were silent for a couple of minutes. There wasn’t an expression on either of their faces such as pity or resignation, which led me to believe that they were formulating their answers and not trying to let me down gently.
“I made contact with you because I did know who you were, but also because I did want to be your friend. Not because of who you are, but because on that first day of school, I just wanted to. And our friendship has grown even though you had no idea who you were. It wasn’t faked. You are the sister I never had regardless of who you are,” Meredith pleaded with me with her words and eyes.
“And the guys?” I looked over at Jesse, raising my eyebrows at him.
“I have never been anything, but straightforward with you, Caden,” he responded in his own stoicism. “At the same time, I can’t talk for Ajax and Nate, but I believe they feel the same.”
I slowly sat in my chair across from Meredith and Jesse, feeling a little better about our friendship.
“Does all this have to do with Ajax leaving?”
Meredith and Jesse exchanged a look.
“I won’t speak for Ajax,” Jesse started. “But it wouldn’t be just over this-”
“He has a lot of issues,” Meredith interrupted, obviously even after months later, still annoyed.
Jesse gave her a look out of the corner of his eye.
“I’m just not going to speak for him.” He took a bite out of his sandwich and effectively cutting off the topic, not bothering to make eye contact with either one of us.
“So, he is a part of this,” I clarified.
Jesse shrugged his shoulders while Meredith nodded, still looking angry in the face. Ajax had really dropped out of our circle for the past couple of months, only hanging out with us maybe a couple times a week. Then it went to a few times every couple of weeks. And suddenly, recently, he had disappeared completely. But even when he was around, Meredith and him fought or had small little spats, so it wasn't exactly too much fun. He just wanted to goof off, like usual, but Meredith kept getting annoyed.
She still wouldn’t tell me what had happened over band camp, but to me, it sounded like they hooked up and then broke up with the way she was acting. I tried to hint around it, but I would get the glare of death when she knew what I was implying. After all this, it apparently had to do with our little supernatural circle.
“Will he be there tonight?” I hinted cautiously.
“No,” Meredith snapped.
Our lunch atmosphere became apprehensive as they both avoided the topic of Ajax, each for apparently different reasons, and I was genuinely intrigued. But I let it be, munching on my own lunch, watching them silently eat.
When the bell rang, Jesse nodded to me before getting up and throwing away his trash while Meredith stayed. I tried to get more information about Ajax out of her, but she sighed and agreed with Jesse that it was his story to tell. It was dropped as I walked to seventh period World History and she departed the opposite way for Algebra 2.
✽✽✽
Tenth period after my Health class, I stepped into the library to see Sera and Finn gathering around her office table talking. As soon as they saw me, they stopped. So, of course, I knew they were talking about me.
"Good afternoon, everybody. What good things were you guys talking about?" I asked as I entered her office.
"We were talking you," said Finn.
"What about?" I dumped my bookbag to the side of Sera's desk that touched the wall and took a seat in my usual spot across from her. Except for this time, Finn was also on her side. Only briefly before he shut the door.
“Caden, where did you go last night?” He asked once the door was shut completely.
“Finn, I told you, she didn’t go anywhere last night.” Sera leveled a look at him.
“So you two were arguing about where I went last night.”
“Caden, why were you so petrified last night?” Sera questioned with concern draping her eyes. “Finn said that something had attacked you? Did you go out last night?”
I glared at Finn. “How do you know I went out? Were you following me?”
He looked taken back for a moment. “No, I wasn’t. I was informed of a possible incident that occurred last night.”
“By whom?” I demanded.
"Forget, by whom. You lied to me. You told me you didn't go out," Sera reprimanded, her hands going to her hips. Although her stance was angry, disappointment was in her eyes. Enough that it made my heart clench.
“I didn’t want to worry you. And I’m fine. Really I am,” I tried to convince her.
Finn glared at me and at that moment, I raised my eyebrows at him, challenging him.
“Who told you?”
“An informant,” he challenged back.
“What happened, Caden?” Sera asked gently.
I looked away and then sighed. "I was on my over to Meredith's last night and was stopped by a vampire. He didn't attack me, but he did confront me. I felt powerless. Like the first vampire that I encountered. He left on his own without touching me. I just feel like I'm giving into all this fear. How can I be this great hunter if I am scared all the time?"
They both looked at each, not exactly surprised but more like they were talking to each
other through telepathy.
After what seemed like minutes, but was probably seconds, Finn closed his eyes and nodded. “Caden, it is time for you to find your inner hunter.”
✽✽✽
As a group, we headed for the school gym after waiting a sufficient enough time after school had ended. And after checking to make sure no one was using the gym, we went inside. Both Sera and Finn closed all the doors. I am sure if they were able to lock them, they would have. Sera secured the main entrance of the gym. It was my understanding that she would be the guard for this event. Finn strolled right up to me with natural confidence.
“Alright. First things first.” He ran a hand through his thick golden hair. “Make yourself comfortable. Put all your stuff over to the side. Let go of anything that may hinder you.”
I threw my book bag and my red windbreaker over to the sidelines of the gym, and then, walked back over to him.
He sized me up as if he was trying to figure out what was the best approach for me.
“Okay. Now we sit.” He sat on the ground, crossing his legs in a meditation lotus style, yoga pose. I followed suit. It was a little uncomfortable for me, but he had sat like this for a reason. The only reason I knew was for meditation.
“Are we going to meditate?”
He seemed surprised that I might actually know how to meditate. “We need to be in a meditated state to enter the ley-line.”
It was my turn to feel surprised. “What’s a ley-line?”
“It’s a mystical line of power that helps with crossing borders to realms or bringing power. Many of them run across the Earth. Most of the time some geographic element exist there. Other times we get ancient monuments like the Pyramids.”
“Realms?”
“There are other planes of existence. And ley-lines help those with supernatural or preternatural abilities sometimes cross over through realms.”
“Is that how Flora connects with me?”
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