My heart leapt into my throat and I sat forward in my chair, a ripple of nerves running through me, but leaning towards him in my eagerness to hear more, finally some information that could be of use! I saw Beth sit forward as well, suddenly alert and business like.
“So, in light of this information, Miss Miller’s American colleague and a contingent of the American special force is flying over tonight. Once they arrive in the morning we will begin collaborating with them to determine the lead vampire’s exact location, planning an attack and hopefully finally ending this war!”
His final statement was greeted by a ragged cheer from everyone assembled around the table, and a lot of grinning and back clapping. This was exactly what we had been waiting for, a real, tangible light at the end of the tunnel. If Beth’s information was as accurate as she said, killing the leader would sever the lower level vampires’ connection with the one thing imbuing them with any kind of common sense or decision making. It could completely turn the tide in our favour. The only person not celebrating was Beth herself. I frowned as I looked over at her, grateful that everyone else seemed to be too absorbed in their own conversations to notice her. She was sat back in her chair, her arms hanging senselessly down by her sides and her usually intense eyes seemed vague, staring blankly at the wall opposite her. Her always pale skin was even whiter than usual… she looked like she was in shock. Suddenly, she seemed to snap out of it, pushing back her chair and standing up incredibly fast… she was almost a blur… and striding out of the room. A couple of people looked up at her curiously, but I followed quickly with a grin on my face and clapping people’s shoulders as I went past them, which relaxed them again, drawing their attention back to the news we had been given.
I found Beth just around the corner from the meeting room, leaning against a wall with her hands resting on her knees, her hair falling forwards and obscuring her face. She looked up sharply as I walked towards her, her eyes were huge and bright and her face was drawn.
“What do you want, Michael?” her voice was harsh and the blunt force of her question knocked me back a little.
“I want to know what’s wrong with you. And why it seems like this news is not good news to you. Anything you need to tell me?”
She laughed bitterly and stood up straight,
“What, you’re wondering if I’m a double agent now or something?” I kept silent, staring straight at her until, for once, she looked away. Sighing, she let herself slide down the wall until she was hunched on the floor with her arms wrapped around her knees. She looked younger and more vulnerable than I had ever seen her, and I immediately abandoned the hard stance that I had started with, moving to sit down next to her. She spoke quietly,
“It’s just Ysabel - the American advisor. I uh, just wish that I had known that she was coming sooner.” She shot a sideways glance at me, “she makes me, uh, nervous.”
“Is it going to cause a problem?” I found it somewhat hard to comprehend the idea that anyone would be able to unsettle Beth this much, and was suddenly very nervous about meeting Ysabel.
“No, no. I’ll be fine.” She smiled slightly at me and sighed again, leaning her head back against the wall.
“What’s she like?”
“Ysabel?” she laughed slightly, although it looked more like a wince, “she’s very charismatic, but quite shy… she’ll come off as very quiet and gentle. But she’s actually pretty fiery. She doesn’t often lose her temper but when she does you’ll sure as hell know about it... She’s clever and perceptive and completely beautiful, in an ethereal, magnetic kind of way. A spectacular fighter too, can kick my ass into next week when she sets her mind to it.” She shot me a grin at this, seeming more like herself again, “well, almost.”
“Wow, she sounds freakishly perfect. How did you meet her if she’s American?”
“Oh, she’s not American” Beth frowned at me, “She’s French… and I’m sure she’s got some faults somewhere, I’ll remember them as soon as she’s annoying me with them again… heh. We sort of grew up together. Anyway, I was up all night and most of today looking through intel from the IGS. I need to get some rest. I also want to try and find out how the hell those bureaucrats in there found out the information about Archer being in London before I did…”
Her brow furrowed as she said this, and her eyes regained some of their usual steely glint… I didn’t envy whoever it was who had dropped the ball when she found them,
“If you don’t need me for anything else, I’m off home.”
She stood up abruptly, the last remnants of her odd mood change falling away as she did.
“No, that’s fine. We’re to meet them at the airport so be back here at 0500.”
She gave me a curt nod, all business, and strode away in the direction of the main entrance. I remained where I was until I heard people beginning to exit the meeting room, then made my own way towards the exit and home, musing on the new side of Beth I had just seen. She had always been so confident, almost brash, refusing to betray any emotions besides annoyance or the odd moment of sarcastic amusement. It was hard to remember sometimes that really, she was just an eighteen year old girl who, if it wasn’t for this war, would probably be going out clubbing with friends every weekend. Enjoying her young life without a care in the world. Staring out through the windscreen sadly, I started my car and drove slowly out onto the road, curious to meet the French fighter who had gotten her so rattled.
Chapter 16
Beth
I sat in the passenger seat of Michael’s car, fidgeting like a stupid human girl and staring out of the window. I could see him glancing at me out of the corner of my eye but, having slammed down every barrier I could muster around my mind, was completely detached from what he or anyone else was feeling. I looked in the wing mirror, catching sight of the vans following us that were to take the American soldiers to the base. Ysabel and their captain were to travel in the car with us. Despite the joy I felt at knowing that she was almost back with me, and the relief that I wouldn’t have to deal with the pain anymore, just the idea of being in such close proximity to her after so long and not being able to touch her was painful. I was dreading the reality. Not shifting was going to an extreme exercise in self control.
“Hey, mind if I have a cigarette?” I asked, desperately searching for something to distract me for the 20 minutes or so left of the journey to the airport. Michael didn’t answer, simply reaching down to the dashboard and opening my window slightly.
“Thank you.” I pulled my slim, silver cigarette holder out of my jacket pocket, taking one out with fingers that I suddenly realised were shaking. I was actually shaking... This was ridiculous. I lit up and inhaled hard, concentrating on the glowing end of the cigarette and trying not to let my rising panic overwhelm my system. A loss of concentration could be disastrous… if I got so much as a brush of Ysabel’s mind I didn’t think I would be able to control myself. She was easily within range now, a delicious temptation…
“You OK, Beth?” Michael sounded concerned, I gave him a wry smile and nodded,
“Yes, I’m just nervous I guess. Stupid.”
“It’s not stupid. You don’t have to be a hard ass all the time you know…”
I glared at him and didn’t reply, refusing to acknowledge the comment in any other way, and turned to look out of the side window.
“Did you find out which of your minions dropped the ball?”
“No,” I scowled, “no one this end knows anything about it, so it’s someone in America that needs bloody sacking.”
“Well hey, maybe you’ll get your chance later” he smirked at me.
We arrived at the airport having spent the rest of the journey in a companionable silence. After parking just off the runway, we were informed that the aeroplane the Americans had been traveling on had just arrived. They had flown over on a military plane, which was now taxiing to where we were. Michael and I stood waiting, with the driver of the van and two men on guard dut
y standing to attention behind us. I kept seeing him glance at me, his concern was grating on me now, although the irritation was at least overwhelming the nerves. My ears picked up the sound of the smaller military plane over the deeper hum of the larger vehicles and I glanced over to the right, in time to see a matt grey plane round a corner and make a beeline towards us. Michael followed where I was looking and stood to attention at the plane approached. I scowled, catching a glimpse of white blonde hair through one of the windows, a fleeting sight that nevertheless made my stomach do some curious acrobatics.
When the plane finally stopped and the door opened, the first person out was the American captain, he was a fairly short man, about 5’8”, but with broad shoulders and a tank-like build that gave him an air of immense strength. His eyes were a dark, dark brown, and they immediately fixed on Michael, gliding over me like I was a part of the scenery. Ordinarily, this would have made me furious, but at that moment I caught the subtle, sweet scent of roses and cinnamon on the air from the plane. As the captain walked down the steps, Ysabel appeared in the doorway. My vision was instantly washed in a haze of red and I swayed slightly on my feet. The scent of her was all around me, dancing between the molecules of dust kicked up by the planes wheels, imbuing me with a renewed sense of power like I had been asleep for years. I blinked rapidly, furious that I couldn’t see her, it was too cruel after so long… when my vision cleared, I looked up to see her holding tight to the doorjamb, her eyes wide and staring at me. Slowly, she began to descend the staircase, her perfect mouth set into a hard line of concentration, and she carefully kept her eyes away from mine. As much as I hated seeing her struggle, my heart soared to see her at all, and perversely, it made me gladder to think that she was obviously just as affected by me as I was by her. I barely noticed the rest of the Americans exit the aeroplane and approach us until their captain introduced himself as Nathanial Wheeler. He had a pronounced Texan drawl, which I couldn’t help but find annoying, and I also found it annoying that he introduced the male officers in his squad before the one woman and Ysabel, despite the fact that Ysabel was right next to him. After Michael had introduced himself and me, as well as the men that stood behind us, he shook the American captain’s hand and we headed towards the car. Ysabel and I fell in behind them. Having her so close again and not being able to touch her, to kiss and hold and lose myself in her… was torture.
Once on the road, the captains began discussing the war in the front seats whilst Ysabel and I tried not to fall upon each other in the back. After a little while, I took out a cigarette and offered her the case without looking at her, she took one, careful not to touch my fingers,
“Merci…” the automatic response was so quiet that even I could barely hear it, but it was enough to send a shock like electric throughout my system, making me gasp. That just made it worse, the sharp intake of air bringing a wave of what seemed like pure her into my lungs. All my muscles tensed and the sudden increase in brightness of the light in the car told me that I had begun shifting, my pupils expanding to fill the whites of my eyes. I squeezed them shut and tried to blank out everything except the sensations in my body, grinding my teeth together as I felt them begin to lengthen. As I fought the shift, pressing myself back into the seat in an attempt to stop my wings unfolding, I sensed Ysabel moving beside me and saying something to Michael. The car immediately began to brake, then pulled over and stopped. As soon as I felt it stop I opened the door and threw myself out, only opening my eyes when my back was to the car. I staggered forwards towards a post and rail fence that ran alongside the road and leaned on it, taking deep breaths of Ysabel-free air and trying to force my eyes and teeth to return to normal. I thanked my lucky stars that I hadn’t lost control enough that my wings had unsheathed. Shit. I heard one of the car doors open and then Michael's footsteps approaching me, he laid one hand on my shoulder and leaned around me to look at my face, pushing back my hair with his other hand,
“Hey, what’s wrong?”, as he touched me, concern echoing in his voice, I felt a wave of jealous anger emanate from the car, so strong it was almost a physical shove against my back… Ysabel was also starting to lose it… giving Michael a curt nod, I took a final deep breath of the clean air, holding it in my lungs, then focused hard to stop my heart and slam down every barrier I could around my mind. Stopping my heart would make me woozy before long, but the risk of that was far preferable to the risk of shifting, which it significantly decreased. Halting the movement of air around my body by not breathing would dull my senses further and make it easier to stand being in close proximity to Ysabel. I swung round, ignoring Michael, and walked fast back to the car. Sitting down, I slammed the door hard and stared straight headed, barely registering Michael getting back in and setting off again.
The remainder of the half hour journey passed in a blur. By the time we got back I was dizzy from keeping my heart stopped and half mad from the effort it took to stop myself tearing down the walls keeping me from the familiar peace of Ysabel’s mind.
Chapter 17
Michael
I glanced in the mirror to see Beth staring stonily out of the side window, after Ysabel had told me she was ill and needed to get out, the temperature in the car seemed to have dropped by several degrees. The American captain, who had told me to call him Nathan, had made a few attempts at conversation, but I was too worried about Beth to be very talkative. You could cut the tension with a knife.
Finally pulling up outside the base, Beth dived out the car like it was on fire and headed straight for the building. I let her be, she had already been told of the plans for the morning and I assumed she would join us in the meeting room. I looked curiously at Ysabel as we walked in at a more sedate pace… Nathan had dropped back to walk with his men, leaving me to escort her. She was petite, about the same height as Beth, but more slender, without the hard, muscular edge that Beth had, and she had very long, very straight blonde hair. Everything about her was pale; her skin, her hair, her green eyes, I could see exactly what Beth had meant when she had described her as ethereally beautiful. She was probably only around 18 as well. I couldn’t help but feel like, despite their obvious physical differences, Beth and Ysabel had something very similar about them, a certain intensity to their mannerisms. Ysabel walked quietly beside me, looking around curiously,
“I can take you on a tour later, if you like?” I asked her, wanting to hear that soft French accent again. The desire puzzled me somewhat, and I felt myself frowning slightly as I registered it,
“Oh, yes. Thank you, that would be… nice” she glanced up at me with a slight smile,
“It would be my pleasure Miss d’Avinho. Where does that name come from by the way? Not that I’m an expert on French surnames, of course.” I grimaced, wondering why I suddenly felt the need to make small talk with this curious woman. She cocked her head slightly, like she had heard something other than my question, then answered shortly,
“It’s old. The modern version is d’Avignon.”
Her reply was quite clipped, like it wasn’t something she cared to discuss, so I swallowed my remaining questions and we continued on to our destination.
Once everyone had been installed in the meeting room, including the men I had chosen from my own unit who were to make up the central core of the assault team, and offered tea or coffee, the talk began to form the skeleton of the plan to find and destroy Archer. Nathan and the Americans were full of ideas, having been engaged in more direct battles than we had in England. It quickly became apparent that Ysabel had not been allowed to be a part of them though; it transpired that Nathan didn’t allow women in his assault teams. He only reluctantly allowed the one woman in his unit to be there because she was the best sniper they had, and as a sniper, operated a little way back from the main fighting. Throughout the entire meeting, it was only this piece of information that got any response whatsoever from either Ysabel or Beth, simply causing Beth to scowl. Other than that, the pair sat side by side, not looking a
t each other and annoyingly, considering they were supposed to be the experts, not contributing to the conversation. I cut the meeting short. There was no point continuing when the two people who should have had the most to give were refusing to help us.
After making the plans for the two groups to meet in the evening, I dismissed everyone bar Beth. Once they had left, I sat down next to her and tried to work out what to say, despite my initial misgivings when she had joined my command, I had never had to reprimand her before. Now I had to she seemed suddenly quite intimidating. I shook the feeling off with some difficulty and cleared my throat, leaning back in my chair and crossing my arms.
“Sort it out, Elizabeth.” She raised one eyebrow at my use of her full name, copying my pose as she replied with her voice fair dripping with sarcasm,
“Sort out what, sir?” that pissed me off, she might be a civilian, but I would not put up with that kind of disrespect from anyone.
“Don’t fucking sass me, Beth. You know damn well what I’m talking about and you know damn well that it won’t do. You have to work with Ysabel, and work well with her. Whatever your problem is, it needs to be sorted. If you can’t work it out, then I don’t want you in my team. End of.” This obviously shocked her, which surprised me, it was probably the first time I had ever seen something I had said rattle her, even slightly. It passed quickly, her face hardening, her eyes becoming like chips of blue ice.
“Fine.” Her reply was harsh and angry, and as soon as it had left her mouth she stood up and stalked out of the room, opening the door hard enough that it banged against the wall. She didn’t bother to close it.
“HEY!” I shouted after her, and was gratified to hear her footsteps halt and then come back towards me. She stopped in the doorway with her arms crossed, not saying anything, just waiting for me to continue,
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