by Aral Bereux
He held the bottle under the flow, to catch the fresh water. The cool sprays of mist flickered over his skin, soothing the searing heat she had radiated since their arrival a few hours earlier. Her delusions were becoming worse, and her stomach, where the bullet had left fragments, and where the knife had stabbed her, was red and swollen from infection, despite his efforts to heal her again.
Julianna screamed.
It startled him.
Water spilled over the bottle as he leapt to his feet, feeling the change take over his body. His eyes grew dark, while his senses heightened for potential threats. A chill shivered him, but there wasn’t a danger in sight, just her wild imagination attacking her again in a fever.
Bas was awake and cradling Julianna. Caden relaxed at the sight of his older brother rocking her gently in his arms, whispering fatherly reassurance to settle her down into lucidity again.
The bottle overflowed under the water. He pulled it back, but didn’t leave the edge without splashing water over his own sweaty face. The day had been long; their argument was still fresh in his mind, before she had collapsed. Any hint of guilt that he felt, ebbed away when he scanned the prisoner she insisted on taking.
Damn noc.
He sensed more arguments to follow. The outcome of a prisoner in his camp – what was left of it – was an oversight on her part. His hand would be forced sooner rather than later, and she’d see him for the creature he really is.
Pussy whipped!
The voice in his head circled him like a vulture to its prey. Indeed, he agreed, he didn’t want the proverbial genie unleashed just yet. He needed to keep calm or Julianna would bolt as quick as her legs would carry her; something he couldn’t risk happening, or he’d answer to a lot of people higher than him on the food chain.
The risk of the noc escaping was slim. The bounds he had fastened around his wrists, down to his ankles and back again, had the noc doubled up. Only a Houdini of the preternatural world would get out of something so carefully constructed.
Caden agonized over the unconscious body for a long time. He crouched to study the restraints security. The breeze stirred the smell of a rotting corpse into his face, forcing him to turn away gagging. He watched the water, holding down what little food he’d had before taking in another deep breath.
He leaned in again, to check the tautness of the rope a final time. The bullet wound in the noc’s shoulder festered in yellow tendrils of pus, stretching thickly in strings across the gaping hole. It was where the bulk of the offending odor came; blocking further blood from leaching its way out.
His hand hovered over his sidearm. The dying state of the prisoner wasn’t lost on him. But not for a moment did he regret his action with the gun. Rather, he found his regret rested with his lack of control over Julianna’s insistence on taking the prisoner. She went against his command, and he let her. This gave the voices in his mind a platform. The Militia intelligence she had hidden was his oversight, too. He wondered what other secrets she held in the corner of her mind, where he was unable to reach. Master watcher that he was, reading a Seer was always difficult – Julianna was downright impossible.
The breeze swirled again, taking the thought, to replace it with the smell of putrefying flesh. Caden grimaced under his held breath. The bounds were secure, but a noc’s nature was difficult to restrain. Clever and resourceful creature’s, much like himself, they were also vicious. A noc was not the right captive, injured or not, when they were already running from the Militia.
Pussy whipped, face it. She has you under her spell.
Julianna’s whimper bounced along the cave walls and distracted him from the creature.
Caden watched her huddle into the embrace of a man she had feared days before, nodding to his gentle whispers lapping deep within her mind, reassuring her, settling her fists which pushed against his chest. Julianna’s fever was her saving grace. Caden’s anger rose again.
Damn reckless girl; wait ‘til you’ve got your health back again, then we’ll see who commands this damn camp!
Caden pushed up from his crouch, yet his conscience nagged him, what little he had. He jumped the small crevice running through the rock, stepping carefully over the uneven surface worn from age and water, to stand beside them.
Bas glanced up from cradling Julianna. ‘Her fever’s raging.’
Caden watched her curl further into Bastiaan’s arms, talking to ghosts not there, and crying quietly.
‘Without medical supplies…we need to move into the next town and scavenge.’
Bas frowned. ‘The next town’s fifty miles away. She can’t ride out. We barely made it here.’
‘Danny and Devo, they’ve rested. They can do the trip.’ He knelt down. ‘Here, hold her for me.’
Caden raised the bottle above her head, gently tipping water over her thick, dark tangle of hair. She relaxed into its cool shower, and Bas’s large hand wiping her face.
‘Better, Jay?’ Caden asked.
Julianna nodded for more. Caden obliged.
‘Even if they moved out now, if they manage to find anything…if the Militia aren’t crawling over these parts by now…’
Bas wiped her face again. She chewed at her cracked lips, not stopping until a trickle of blood seeped from the cut. The sting shocked her eyes open. Bas laid her down in the blankets while Caden put his wetted fingers to her lips, wiping away the dribble of blood.
‘If you’re not comfortable with Devo riding out, I’ll go with Danny myself.’
Caden found himself watching Julianna settle into a restless slumber beside him. He tipped more water over his fingers and wet her lips again.
‘With no sleep? You’ll kill each other before you hit the interstate,’ Bas said, eyes rolling in disagreement.
His brother was right. The thought of sleep made his eyes heavy. Caden felt the thick stubble growing on his face with a frustrated hand. The thought of riding out and leaving her, bothered him. Bas knew a few things, but he wasn’t medically trained, not like him.
Caden touched her cheek, and she pressed into his palm.
‘You’re right,’ Caden said. ‘I need to stay.’
‘She feels safe with you. You owe it to her and Isis. He’ll want the details on this.’
Isis? He forgot about his fearless leader. The thought stunned him.
‘Yeah, if we can ever contact him. Damn comms are useless now, and if we managed to get it working, every man in the new world order would monitor our conversations. They’d be taking notes and shutting us down.’
Bas nodded quietly.
‘I’m ranting I know, but fuck it. We’re in a hell of a position right now. Everyone’s after us.’ Caden rubbed his hand over his chin stubble again. His hand felt hot from her cheek. ‘I’m not used to this, Bastiaan. Remember when we did the hunting?’
‘We’re no longer Militia, my brother. We made our choice. I think it was the right one, don’t you?’
Caden frowned at the girl sleeping gently in her makeshift bed of blankets. Of course I do, the Old Council is redundant. Old values abandoned for the need to rule under false pretense, factions divided – what I spent years attaining, but still…the nagging in his mind – maybe some of the Militia ideals were right.
I could be mistaken—
‘Caden?’ she called.
The louder voices in his mind abandoned him for her pleading whisper. ‘Right here, J Rae.’
‘I’m dying, aren’t I?’
You were dying last night, Julianna. When Taris stabbed you, over, and, over again. Then I healed you, and I saved you, and we fought together again—
‘Am I?’
‘No.’ He lowered from his knees to spread his long legs on the damp, uneven rock. He tightened the thin blanket over her chest. ‘Talking stupid talk, girl. You have a bad fever, makes it feel like you are.’
Bas ambled for the corner, where the remaining two of their camp were woken. The mission was given in a hushed whisper. They nodded in J
ulianna’s direction, with the whole she’s done for look. Caden glanced down at Julianna, following their stare. She’d settled against his leg, resting her hand around his thigh, with her cheek pressed close. Her eyes were open and staring into the space around her.
She’s listening.
He tipped more water into his hands and stroked her face, cooling her skin. Julianna looked up weakly to meet his eyes. He winked, nodding to her before breaking their connection, to watch the others prepare for their ride out.
Daniel pulled his boots on while Devo checked and holstered her Glock and hunting knife. Bas counted extra ammunition for them to take.
‘What do you need?’ Daniel asked. He checked his spare magazine and walked over to stare at Julianna.
‘Anything you can get your hands on,’ Caden said. ‘Anything that’ll fight this infection and fever.’
Daniel squatted on his haunches. ‘How long’s she got?’
Caden pursed his lips. ‘Just be quick.’
‘As quick as can be,’ Daniel said.
Caden was dubious, but it was Daniel’s sister after all. Maybe this one counted for the man. They lingered in each other’s stare, eyeballing the other, until Devo broke their tension from her call at the narrow gap on the ledge, where the water didn’t flow.
Caden put the bottle to Julianna’s lips but she didn’t drink, and even when Bas tipped her head to help, she refused.
Daniel stopped at the ledge. ‘If we’re not back by morning—’
Caden nodded, his focus rested on Julianna. ‘Can’t afford to screw this one up, Danny.’
Devo slipped over the edge. He nodded and jumped the ledge after her. A low rumbling broke through the crashing of the water, filling the cave chambers with the bikes engines speeding along the dirt track to the interstate.
Caden wet her lips with his fingertips; it was enough to coax her to the water again. She drank a dribble, with the rest running against tight lips.
‘What now?’ Bas helped him rub more water over her face and arms.
She stirred.
Caden’s worried eyes met with Bastiaan’s frown. ‘We can only do one thing. We wait.’
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INDEX OF TERMS
A
Abilities
An “ability” is possessed by a watcher, more than any other preternatural. All watchers are different and some remain dormant, where they possess no ability at all due to cross breeding with normals. Abilities can vary from the more common whisper to the least common shape-shifter, and levitation and manipulation of objects.
See also Levitation; Normals; Reading; Shape-shifter; Watcher; Whisper
Adam Weishaupt (First General, Rebellion)
Born long before his recorded “birth” of 1748 (which he faked to give himself credulity), Weishaupt otherwise, is an elusive figure in his community. He is noted to have founded several philosophical communities around the time of his “birth”, in Germany, and played a large role in founding the New World Order while he was agreeable to the Old Council and Senate stance. Post Militia take over, Weishaupt went on to unify the Rebellion into a more structured organization with the help of brothers, Caden and Bastiaan Madison, and close friend, Peter Rae.
See also, Bastiaan Madison; Caden Madison; Old Council; Peter Rae; Rebellion, The; New Council; Senate, The.
Ancients
An Ancient is someone considered to be of invaluable knowledge and status. They have reached a Master level, or equivalent, in the Rites of Passage, and most are no younger than four centuries. Most Ancients are watchers, then followed in lesser degree, walkers, nocturnes, and incubus/succubus.
See also Rites of passage.
Ancients High Order
Select few of each preternatural culture are appointed to the High Order, to oversee the masses. It is a group associated with the Guild – a secret society only few have knowledge of. It is in charge of overseeing powers, ensuring that a specific code of conduct in adhered to at all times for the watcher and walker community, and preternaturals in general.
Articles, The
The Articles are a law, written by the Senate for the New World Order, with each Article having its own punishment if breached in any way. For example, Article 0005 pertains to music and any art related action, which is forbidden by the New World Order. If breached, and discovered by the Militia, the said offender would be punished in one of the many camps, and reprogrammed to join the Militia initiative. The Articles can be found on any newsstand as a free read, and anything additional is sent to every resident within the Militia control.
B
Bastiaan Madison
Also known as “Bas.” Bastiaan Madison (ancient name, Seban Marat) is the older brother of Caden, (Cain Marat), who is a watcher and a member of the Ancients High Order. Bastiaan is cousin to Tarisos Madison, and was a High Priest to The Family, when Julianna Rae was a child, being her mentor until she was seven.
See also Ancients; Ancients High Order; Guild; High Priest; Old Council; New Council; Walker; Watcher.
Binding
Binding occurs between two watchers who are embarking on marriage or partnership – such as a student/teacher, during Rites training. It is a traditional view that occurs during a mutual bloodletting ritual, where each drinks the others blood. The more one drinks, the stronger the bond. Binding oneself to another allows for the dominant partnership to sense what the other senses, feels, and even allows for the ability to locate each other, if the bond is strong enough. A bond between two is very difficult to break, with only few permitted or capable of doing it. Those permitted usually reside on the Senate, or higher positions.
See also Bloodletting; Passage of Rites; Rites Training; Watcher.
Bloodletting
Bloodletting is a term widely used over the preternatural community, meaning a variety of things to each culture. Succubus/incubus will engage in the act of bloodletting, in order to survive. Watchers will engage in it, to bind themselves to either a student, or life partner, and feeding when the need arises, to strengthen oneself.
See also Binding; Incubus/Succubus; Watcher.
C
Caden Madison
Also known as Cain Seth Marat (ancient name). Caden is a full-blood watcher, and appointed member of the Ancients High Order, to guide and train Seers. Cain was a member of the Old Council, and served as Head of the Council between 1995 and 2013. In 2014, Cain established a New Council, in hope of regaining what the Old Council lost during the War of Rebellion. Caden’s reputation as Cain is one of notoriety over the centuries as someone who bestows vengeance, punishment, and terror, quickly and harshly. He is younger brother to Bastiaan Madison (also known as Seban Marat in ancient circles) and cousin to Tarisos Madison. He is Master watcher to Daniel Rae.
See also Ancients; Ancients High Order; Old Council; New Council; Watcher.
Camp 4.5.2
Camp 4.5.2 is where Caden and Julianna meet and escaped together, from Lieutenant Taris Madison. Camp 4.5.2 is considered to be poorly designed, where many breakouts occurred, until the camp was decommissioned upon the opening of Camp 2.2.1, in 2013. Camp 4.5.2 is now a military camp specifically for HSD training purposes.
See High Security Division
Camps, The
The Camps, both on the East and West coast, are designed to support the reprogramming agenda.
See also Reprogramming.
Central Command
Central Command Head Quarters is located centrally, within Sector One. It consists of three levels: the basement for all intelligence servers; level one for processing; and level two is the officer quarters, where Taris frequents often as his place of residence, in the city. Central Command also boasts a large section for detainment and interrogation, and is rumored to be a place where no one ever escapes. If a prisoner is to be released, they are released as a reprogr
ammed and successfully inducted soldier, of the Militia.
See also Militia; Reprogramming; Sectors, The.
Club Star
Located in Sector Six of the city sectors, Club Star is a place of meeting, as well as illicit entertainment, run by an incubus called Boss Man. It is a known Rebel location used to seek new recruits and Intelligence from informants, where Julianna Rae is the star performer of the site, featuring in her own exclusive show, as a solo exotic performer. She is also the main contact in the club for those seeking Rebel help, or for those seeking a courier, to move Intelligence between Sectors.
Comms Plate
The Communiqué plate allows for communications between linked in camps on secure lines. It is also a form of data base, where intelligence can be stored and retrieved via passwords, and is used as a way of delivering secure information via courier. Its appearance is that of a thin plate of glass, until activated.
Council, the New
The New Council was formed in late 2014 by Isis, Cain Madison, and Bastiaan Madison, with the permission of the Ancients High Order and Guild.
Council, the Old
The Council is a body who governs traditional values for the preternatural community in general, and consists of twelve members, plus the head of the table. They are responsible for the correct conduct of each member of their community; for such things as ordering an initiation or Rites, and have the power to arrest those who do not subscribe to their teachings. Each member represents a race of preternatural and has a vote on all matters presented, with three of the seats reserved for Senate members only. The Council can influence other factions, such as the Senate, who are more political, than philosophical and religious, and hold much power. Saying this, the Senate have the ability to sway all votes with their seats since 2001, if they so please. Caden Madison was Head of the Old Council between August 1995 and April 2013.
