“Damn you Aiden,” he muttered under his breath, and walked up the stoop towards Shayna. He should have been the one to tell her, he should not have let it been Aiden.
Shayna stared out towards the yard, and didn’t even so much as blink when Cain sat down beside her.
“Shayna, I need to talk to you,” he said, hoping one last time that she didn’t already know.
Shayna turned and glared at him, coldly. He had hoped she would never look at him with such anger, and hurt. It killed him inside to see the hurt in her eyes. She did know.
“I don’t want to hear anything you have to say Cain,” she said coldly, “Did you think I would never find out? How could you look me in the eyes every day, and let me fall in love with, knowing you took the one person, that I needed the most in life?” tears began falling from Shayna’s eyes.
Cain wanted to hold her, and sooth her. He didn’t want to be the one hurting her.
“How was I supposeed to know?” he said quietly, “He was the one that attacked me that night, he was the one person I hated in this world most, besides myself,” Cain tried to take Shayna’s hand, but she pulled it away and used it to wipe the tears from her face. Cain continued talking, not sure if Shayna would listen, “I didn’t want to come here, but Aunt Mill told me I had to. She kept telling me not to worry about anything, and to come here,” Cain said, then paused briefly. “I understand now, you are the one she has been talking about since I met her.”
Shayna looked at Cain furiously with tear filled eyes. “The one what? The one who would change you?” she asked, furious.
“No,” Cain said, he didn’t want her blood at all. “I am so sorry this is happening,” he shook his head, “I should have never came here.”
Shayna didn’t respond, she slowly stood up and walked into the house, leaving Cain sitting on the porch swing alone. She wanted him to leave, she never wanted to see him again, and she agreed, that he should have never came. She went upstairs, to her room and threw herself one the bed, and buried her face into the pillow, and cried.
When Shayna didn’t come down for dinner, Sarah went to her room to to check on her. The room was dark, Sarah turned on the lamp and could see Shayna fast asleep on top of the covers, on the bed. Her face was swollen, in away that Sarah knew, tears could have only done. Sarah ached for her daughter’s pain, whatever it was. She kissed her lightly on her forehead, and covered her with the blanket that was at the foot of the bed.
She turned the lamp back off, and left the room. She wished she knew what had made Shayna cry hard enough to make her face swell in that way, she did know however, that Shayna would probably never tell her what it is, and that it probably had to do with Cain.
“Why are you so stubborn?” she said out loud, and shook her head as she walked down the hall to the staris.
Shayna always liked when her dreams were at the waterfall. It usually meant her father would be there. She wondered if he ever visited Melina’s dreams.
“Sometimes,” she heard a familiar voice say from behind her, in response to her thought.
Shayna whirled around to face him, and to throw her arms around him. “Daddy!” she cried.
Marcus Verona held his daughter while she cried into his chest, “Everything will be okay Shayna,” he told her, stroking her hair. “But you have to listen to me, he took her face in his hands and looked at her, “Go to him Shayna, he is the one for you. You have to forgive him for what he did.”
“No,” Shayna said, “He killed you,” she was crying uncontrollably.
Her father wiped the tears from her face, “I killed him Shayna. I left him for dead and took his natural life. You shouldn’t blame him, I don’t,” he pulled her close to him, her head resting on his chest again, and continued stroking her hair.,“But I gave him you, and he loves you. His love for you, is as pure as love gets. You two can do great things together,” he squeezed her tiny body tightly, “Go to him Shayna. He needs you. Go.”
Standing atop of a huge sand dune looking out over Lake Michigan Cain wondered, if he jumped to the rocky shore below, if he would actually die. He had no purpose, no reason to go on without Shayna.
“I should have never came here,” he said and kicked at the sand.
He hated that he was making her hurt so much. A branch snapped behind him. Someone had snuck up on him. But how? He wondered. He turned around to face the intruder. A dark figure with blood red eyes stood in the darkness, red eyes fixed on Cain.
“Who are you?” Cain asked. “What do you want?”
The creature stared at Cain, with striking eyes, growling under his breath.
“Answer me dammit!” Cain yelled at it.
“I want you,” the creature of the night snarled. A deep rumble came from the hooded figures chest, and it moved it’s, human like arm, to the side exposing an ancient looking dagger.
Cain’s eyes widened. He had only seen a dagger like it one time in his existance, and it had been in a book. The dagger was designed to kill Changelings, and he knew it. The design had been created and discovered by the father of a Halfling Princess, hundreds of years earlier. No one was quite sure what made the dagger work so effectivly, but the pure platinum daggers, if blessed by a Roman priest, killed Changelings without fail, everytime.
“You’re time on this Earth is over Cain De Luca,” the dark creature growled.
Cain stood motionless, and the creature stalked forward, pulling the dagger out of it’s sheath. The moon relfected off the shiny platinum blade, and Cain stared at it in amazment. It was a beautiful ornate piece of weaponry.
“Are you going to run?” the snarly voice asked Cain. The creature held up the dagger and came closer.
“No,” Cain answered. “I’m not. This is what I want. My time here is over.”
The creature stood, before Cain and raised the dagger. Cain stood proud, waiting for his death. He didn’t want to hurt Shayna anymore. With a quick movement, and a flash of the blade, the creature plunged the dagger into Cain’s chest, piercing his unbeating heart. The hooded face was only inches away from Cain’s, and Cain was able to look into his blood red eyes. He could feel the poison of the cold blade entering his blood. He could see the creatures face clearly.
“You!” Hh sputtered as a fire erupted in his chest.
“Ahh.” the creature hissed, “And, now you will die for love.”
In an instant the devil like creature, thrust Cain’s body over the bluff and watched him fall, and hit the rocks below, with a hard thud. The dagger remained in Cain’s chest, right where the creature wanted it. It hissed in delight.
“Good ridiance Cain De Luca,” the creature snarled, and turned, leaving the bluff.
The last thing Cain felt, was the waters of Lake Michigan seaping into his wound. It was a cold numbing feeling, that he somewhat enjoyed. He could hear the water splashing on the rocks around him, and then everything turned red, and he couldn’t see or hear anything.
The red faded to black, and the Changling was gone, his existance was over. Only an empty dead body remained lying on the jagged rocks, at the bottom od the dunes bluff.
Chapter 15
Shayna woke up thinking about what her father had said. But, she wasn’t sure that she was quite ready to forgive Cain for what he had done. She hated feeling alone, with no one to talk to about it. Maybe she could talk to Aiden. Tell him what her father said. He probabaly wouldn’t care. She thought. He hated Cain for his own reasons.
Shayna didn’t hate Cain, she still loved him very much. And, she realized she did forgive him. She knew her dad was right. He was the one for her., but she wasn’t ready to look him in the eyes yet. He had killed her father, she would need more time.
She opened the closet door, to get some clothes, and immediately saw the garment bag, which held Aunt Mill’s dress. Her eyes began to tear up. She would always remember the evening on the island with Cain, no matter what happened.
She grabbed a pair of jeans, and a light pink hoo
ded pullover cardigan, and closed the closet door. She was not looking forward to going to school, she wanted to crawl into her bed in a fetal position, and stay there forever. But as Sarah had assumed, she had been neglecting her responsibilities. She had to go.
When Cain never showed up for school, Shayna wasn’t surprised. In Advaced Art, she sat in her seat alone, staring at the portrait he had drawn of her.
The final bell of the day rang, and Shayna left her class, and went to her locker to get the books she needed to complete the History assignment that she still had not turned in. She was able to get a two day extension, telling the teacher that everything was on her laptop, and her laptop wasn’t working. He gave her the extension, and told her to bring the laptop in for repairs. The Art Acadamy had issued the laptops to the students, and handled all maintenance.
Shayna closed her locker, and to her surprise, Melina was standing on the other side of the door.
“You okay today?” Shay asked Shayna.
“I’m fine.”
Melina knew she was lying, “Come on Shay,” she put her arm around Shayna’s shoulder and turned her toward the exits, “Let me give you a ride home,” she said.
Shayna didn’t protest, she walked with her sister out of the school to the parking lot, holding back her tears.
As soon as the Honda was out of the parking lot, Melina started in on her.
“Shayna, what’s going on? I have never seen you so happy, and now you’re staying in bed all day, and your face is obviously, tear stained and swollen,” Melina paused, “Did he do something to you?” she asked.
Shayna burst into tears, “You wouldn’t understand Melina,” she sobbed.
“Try me.”
“I have to get over his past, and it is a very difficult thing to do,” Shayna wiped more tears from her face. She was feeling vulnerable.
“That seems pretty understandable Shay,” Melina said looking at her twin awkwardly, “His past is his past, Shayna, and if you can’t get over his past, you’re not going to have much of a future.
Shayna looked at Melina through tears, and said, “Don’t you think I’ve thought about that Mel? If I can’t get over this we can’t have a future. And what he did is,” Shayna tried to swallow a lump that had formed in her throat. She wished she could tell her twin sister, but there was no point in making her hate him, and be in pain herself, all over again. “What he did is pretty bad,” she said after a moment.
Melina knew Shayna telling her was a longshot, but she asked the obvious question, that was burning on her mind, “What did he do?” she said.
They were almost to their street. Shayna had forgotten, how quick it was, to get home in the car.
“He has killed,” she said so quietly, it was almost a whisper.
But Melina heard her, and remained silent. She didn’t know what to say. She knew there were circumstances when someone had to take the life of another, but she didn’t know Cain’s circumstances. She couldn’t believe Shayna had divulged this.
Shooting her a look, that Melina had never seen before, Shayna said, “Don’t you ever tell anyone,” the tone in Shayna’s voice was threatening, and very unlike her, Melina knew she ws serious, “I don’t want anyone, but myself to think negatively of him.”
Melina couldn’t believe that Shayna was telling her as much as she had. But quite honestly, something in Melina’s brain sparked with excitement when she thought of Cain as a killer. He was so handsome, and mysterious, he didn’t look like a killer. The thought made him more attractive.
“I promise I won’t tell,” Melina said to her, although she would tell Noah, at the first chance she got, but only Noah.
They got home, and Shayna went staight up to her room to get started on her assignment. She worked for an hour, and got nothing done. Cain’s face was on her mind, and she was unable to focus. She realized she didn’t need time, she was ready, and she was only torturing herself by staying away from him. She was eternally his. She knew what she had to do. She got up from her desk, and grabbed her car keys off of the dresser, where they had been collecting dust. Without saying a word to Melina, who was sitting downstairs on the couch in her usual spot, Shayna left the house. She got in the Honda Prelude and began driving towards Cain’s house. She had to go to him, she couldn’t make him wait any longer.
Shayna was relieved to see Cain’s car in the driveway. When he never showed up to school, she assumed he had left. But, when Aunt Mill answered the door, Shayna immediately noticed the distressed look on her face. Shayna’s heart sank to her knees.
“What is it?” Shayna demanded grabbing the old woman’s hands.
“Come in dear,” Aunt Mill said, bringing Shayna into the foyer, and motioning for her to go to the livingroom. “Please, have a seat.”
Shayna sat down on a red velvet victorian couch, the matching chair she realized, was at the bookstore.
“Where is Cain?” she asked Aunt Mill, nervously. Her instincts told her that this wouldn’t be good news.
The old woman sat down next to her, “I don’t know,” she said and stared out the window at the barn. “He left yesterday morning, before I went to the bookstore to do inventory, and I haven’t seen him since. When I try to reach out to him, I get nothing but blackness,” she looked at Shayna with frightened eyes, “Like he isn’t there. I can’t find him.”
“What does that mean?” Shayna asked. She had an inclining, that Aunt Mill could sense and see things. She figured it out the day Cain said she sent him a message to go to the cemetary. Shayna could feel the tears stinging her eyes, she new something wasn’t right.
“I don’t know, it could mean more than one thing,” Aunt Mill looked out at the barn again.
Shayna fought back tears and asked, “Like what?”
Aunt Mill took a deep breath, “It could mean he’s too far away from me, it could mean he’s blocked me out,” she fidgiting with a loose thread on the long floral dress that she wore. “Or, it could mean that he’s gone,” she said quietly, and looked down at her lap.
“Gone?”
Aunt Mill didn’t say anything, she continued to stare at her lap.
“What do you mean gone, Aunt Mill?” Shayna asked, she needed to hear her say it.
The woman sighed loudly, she didn’t want to see Shayna in pain, but she knew she need to tell her. “He has either left, and we’ll both never see him again, he’s dead, or he has changed,” she said, “And, it’s highly unlikely that he has changed.”
Once again fighting back tears, Shayna asked, “Do you think he’s dead?”
The same distressed look she had at the door, returned to Aunt Mill’s face, “I don’t know,” she said, “I don’t know anything. That’s what worries me the most. All I see is blackness,” the old woman bagan to tremble.
“Would he have left because of me?” Shayna asked.
“Shayna he would die for you, and if he couldn’t have you, he would want to die,” Aunt Mill didn’t hesitate to say, “And, yes, he would leave. What is left of his spirit would probably leave too. He doesn’t want you in pain.”
Shayna didn’t know what to say. Cain couldn’t leave her, how would she ever find him to tell him that everything would be okay, and that she forgave him. She was still his.
She sprang to her feet, “I have to go,” she said.
She knew Aunt Mill would not mind if she began sobbing like a baby on her couch, but she had to get out of there.
“Thank you Aunt Mill,” she said and bent down, and kissed the woman on the cheek. “I wil come back soon, I promise.”
Shayna didn’t even make it out the door, and the tears were rolling. She had almost reached the Honda, when she heard a loud thud, coming from the barn. Obsidion. Her mind was so focused on Cain, she had forgotten about Obsidion. Without thinking, she turned and headed towards the barn.
She reached his stall, and slowly opened the door. The massive black stallion immediately beagan rubbing his head on her, practically knocking
her over. Shayna laughed through her tears, and rubbed his neck.
“Hey boy,” she said to him, and laying her head against his neck. “Where is he?”
Obsidion grunted, and gently pushed his way past Shayna, and out of the open stall door.
“Hey!” Shayna called after him, “What are you doing?”
He looked back at her, with big black eyes, and headed for the open barn doors. Shayna quickly followed after him. She couldn’t believe he was going to run off on her, her first time alone with him.
The horse walked out of the barn, and Shayna came out behind him, and almost walked right into him. He had taken the kneeling position she had seen him do before, and was waiting for her to mount him.
Shayna looked around the property for anyone watching, wondering if she should do it. Obsidion whinnied softly, and Shayna finally climbed on his back. He stood upright, and Shayna gathered some of his mane, at his withers, and almost simultaneously, Obsidion took off at a full run. He ran around the barn, and down the driveway, heading west towards the sun.
Shayna knew she was being stupid. She had been neglecting so much lately, and here she was riding off into the sunset on a beautiful, black stallion. Obsidion ran, and didn’t stop. All Shayna could do, was lean her body down by his neck, and let the wind whip against her face, and through her hair. She realized she really didn’t care where this incredible creature was taking her. She felt so free. When they came to the top of a dune bluff overlooking Lake Michigan, Obsidion suddenly came to an abrupt stop, right when Shayna was sure he was going to leap off the edge with her on his back.
It was dark, but Shayna could see so much in the moonlight. The lake looked gorgeous in the dark, hundreds of feet below her. She inhaled the fresh air, and held it in her lungs, enjoying the need to breath while she could. Cain’s face appeared in her mind, so handsome. His emerald eyes looking at her, with nothing but love in them. She felt scared.
Obsidion began to hoof the ground, and prance in place,
“Easy,” Shayna said to him.
Midnight Blood (Born Immortal) Page 15
