Of course he disagreed with my choice, said it wasn’t my battle to fight. I didn’t care. This was my battle. It became mine the minute I met him. He had taken a chance on me, threw everything he knew away, and for what? A chance. And I was going to do the same. I owed him that.
I walked over to the bed and stood in front of him. Running my fingers through his hair, I kissed the top of his head. I hated seeing him this way, but I had to stay strong and stick to my decision. “I understand, but Serene said—”
“Serene?” He lifted his head from his hands. “Serene spoke to you?”
“Yes.” I guessed I hadn’t told him the name of who spoke to me. “She tried to contact me near the Falls earlier. Why?”
He sat up, his eyes scanning ahead of him. “Serene does not speak to anyone, but the council. They decipher her messages to us.”
“The council?”
“Yes. They are the ones who rule over Elda, a council of elders from all four sectors.” He stood up and walked over to the fireplace.
I sat down on the bed. “Four sectors?”
Resting his arm on the fireplace, he looked into the flames. The light reflected off his bare chest. “Elda is made up of four sectors: Onqua, Lanterra, Elanaè, and Säaura. Säaura is where the council is located. It is said that Serene appears to them there. They decipher her messages and guide our world accordingly.”
He didn’t speak to me impatiently. His words sounded more on autopilot.
Elanaè …. Where had I heard that? And then it came to me. “Elanaè. That’s where she took me. She said you were from there.”
Luca’s face became ghost white at this new information. What I said must have been true. “Why would she come for you?”
I shrugged. “She said I was the only one who could locate the truth.”
“What could she have meant by the truth?”
“I don’t know. She said you would be the one to help show me what to do. It is then I will find the answer.” I stared at him hard. I wanted to know what his thoughts were, but I couldn’t read him.
He gazed back into the flames. “I cannot.”
“What do you mean?” Why wouldn’t he help me?
He walked over and sat down next to me. I could see the worry in his eyes.
“I mean that I refuse.” He grabbed my hands and placed them in between his. “I will not let you do this. Serene has no right to ask anything of you. You are not of our world. I will not let you risk your life for—”
“You?” I placed my hand on his cheek. “You are worth everything and more. I’m done letting my fear decide my life. I have let it take me over for long enough. You can’t make this decision for me. I’m not asking your permission. If you can’t help me, I’m going to do it anyway. This is the future that I desire.” I pulled his lips toward mine, and left a single kiss.
A tear formed in his eye. His lashes flicked down, hiding it. “Then, I will do what I can to help,” he whispered.
I lay my forehead against his temple. “Thank you.”
He didn’t say anything and his gaze remained down.
I climbed into his lap, and pulled the quilt from my body. I left him soft kisses, allowing him to concentrate on other matters.
*
Pale cheeks, deep blue eyes, and a lackluster expression. This didn’t look like the face of someone out of the ordinary, or someone who could change the lives for so many. I couldn’t even manage to stabilize my own life half the time. How could I help someone else?
I put my hand to the mirror, as if that would be enough to change the reflection to a girl of courage beyond the greatest of heroes. But when I pulled my hand away, the image was just me. It was me trying to see something Serene could. Something that told me I was the key to saving so many.
I pulled at my hair and pinched at my cheeks. It didn’t help. It was still just me, there.
After adjusting my silk nightgown and sliding on my robe, I made my way out to the balcony to join Luca. The bravest hero couldn’t stand next to me. I had to be that for him. I left that other girl back in the mirror.
*
I watched Luca write in the light of the sun. He was so wonderful. My decision couldn’t be more correct. “Hi.”
Luca looked up at me and his lips tipped up in the corners.
I came closer and he slid his hand into my silk robe.
“Good morning.” He pulled me in for a kiss.
When I parted our lips, I looked for signs of worry on his face. There weren’t any. His expression was completely content. I wasn’t surprised by this. He promised he was going to do what he could for me, and that required the same confidence I had.
I sat down on the wicker couch next to him, pulling my legs up on the seat. He went back to what he was doing, and I lay my head on his warm shoulder.
He wrote into his ivory journal, and I watched his hands. I couldn’t read the words he wrote. The letters were curved and graceful beyond any alphabet I’d seen before. This must be the handwritten form of his language. “What do you write in there?”
I guessed I never really wondered before today. It seemed, lately, he wrote more than ever.
Smiling, he lifted his head. “Everything.” He gazed off into the distance. “Giovanni gave it to me just before the Hunters came to take me away. He told me it would get me through.” He brought his gaze to me. “I guess I never really understood that until now.” He laughed gently.
Giving a half smile, I stroked his leg through the silk of his pajama pant. “Anything juicy about me in there?” I arched an eyebrow.
He closed his journal and placed it on the side table. Putting his arm around me, he brought me in close. “It would not be complete without you.” He placed his other hand on mine and watched as I stroked his leg.
I gazed at our hands, hoping this wouldn’t be our last moment of peace. “We probably should leave today. Serene said there isn’t much time.”
He stopped my hand and tightened his fingers around mine. “I do not think it would be wise for us to act rashly. We should think through our plan of action before we do anything.”
I sighed heavily. I hoped he would’ve made this easier for me, but he didn’t. I was scared, too, and I needed him. I needed his strength. “What do you think we should do? She said it was you that would help me find the connection to her.”
“I have been pondering over the conversation you had with her all night. I am still uncertain of what she meant. I plan on looking up a couple of allies. Maybe I can find something out there.”
I lay my head into the crook of his neck. “What makes you think they’ll help us?”
“They owe me at least one favor from all the ways I have helped them in the past. This should not be a problem.”
I lifted my head and rested it against his temple. I wanted to absorb some of his logic, but I couldn’t. This wasn’t the right approach and I knew it. “There has to be a reason why she said you were the only one who could help. She said your ‘journey’ would lead me to it.”
“My journey?”
I raised my head and nodded. “Maybe she meant your lifestyle. You told me you worked as an intern downtown. Could we start there?”
Luca’s chest inhaled deeply and his face grew stern. “I cannot take you there, Ariel.”
I could hear his response before he even said it, but he had to do better than that to keep me from pushing this. “Why? It makes sense to start there. You said work took up most of your time. This has to be it.”
“Because it is not that simple.” His voice was clipped and frustrated.
“Why, Luca? And you better tell me the truth.” My own frustrations surfaced, now.
He sighed. “Because it is my district headquarters. The building is a cover for what we actually do.”
“Which is what?”
“It is where the Hunters report to our Anchor, Ivan Craven. We receive our assignments there, amongst other things.”
I should have known
when he told me about this program that was what his real job was there. Now that he said this, it made even more sense to start there. I had to convince him. He had to know this was right. “Luca, don’t you see? That’s probably exactly where it is. It has to be—”
“Ariel, the place will be crawling with Hunters. There would be no way I could get you in undetected. We cannot go there.” He stood and walked over to the handrail of the balcony.
I joined him at his side. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I lay my forehead against his shoulder. When I lifted my hand to his heart, I could feel the racing thumps of it. “You must find a way.”
He grabbed my hand from his chest. “I said no, Ariel. We will find another way. We will stay here for a few more days until I can connect with my colleagues. Then, we will go from there. I am sorry.” He released my hand and went into the lake house.
I put my hand on the railing where he touched it. The metal was hot and the paint was bubbled up from his hand. I could feel his struggle.
*
I wished he would trust me. I knew we had to go to Craven. Any other option didn’t make sense. He had to know that. I thought back to what Bailey said that day at Robin’s Windmill. He was trying to protect me, but this time I couldn’t let him be blinded by his need for my safety. It was my time to save him.
Knock, Knock, Knock.
Luca’s knocks were muffled by the sounds of the shower.
“Ariel?” Luca’s voice came from outside the bathroom door.
I turned down the marble knobs of the water pressure. “Yes, Luca?”
“I am going down to the corner market to get some supplies for dinner. Is there anything you wish for me to bring you?”
“I can’t think of anything.”
“All right. I will be right back. Be careful.”
Would he ever stop his worries? He was the one leaving the house. “I’ll be fine. You’re the one leaving. You be careful.” I laughed.
“I suppose you are right, but still be careful.” His gentle laughter faded along with the sound of his steps down the hall.
I turned the water back up by the knobs and continued searching my thoughts for a plan. There had to be a way around this. Serene told me saving Luca’s world was up to me. How could I do something as great as that? I couldn’t even do the simple task of getting Luca on board with my plans. My faith in her confidence in me waned. I felt weak.
A creak of the wooden floorboards took my attention. The noise came from outside the door.
“Luca?” I paused for a reaction, but heard nothing. I pulled the shower curtain open a bit to increase my volume. “Luca? Did you forget something?”
Hearing nothing, I gazed down the door. Shadowed footprints stepped underneath. I scanned back up and the doorknob turned slowly.
My heart in my throat, I hopped out of the shower. I quickly snapped the manual lock. The lock clicked into place and the doorknob turned viciously.
Shaking, I stepped back. The doorknob suddenly stopped turning. A few seconds went by, then the lock—I just locked—moved by itself in the opposite direction.
No. I ran to the back wall of the bathroom. Fumbling, I entered in the access codes for the door’s internal locks. At first, I thought Luca was ridiculous for wanting to stay here. With all its safety features, the entire house was pretty-much the Canadian version of the movie Panic Room. I thought he overreacted, but now I understood the need.
I keyed in the last number and paused. I watched the door. The sounds of the steel locks rang through the air. One by one they braced into place. Then, there was silence.
The violet and aqua lights made their appearance next.
They shot under the door in bursts, faded, then started up again.
I gazed around the bathroom, my stomach felt sick and twisted. My eyes searched out a weapon, but I had no tools at my disposal. That didn’t matter, anyway. Luca’s people had power I could never stand a chance against.
The panic quickly rose inside me. Luca was probably halfway to the market by now. He would never hear my screams. By the time he got back, it would be too late. I had to do something. I couldn’t give up this easily. I had to find a way. If they got me, I could never save my family. I looked to the window, but quickly realized this wasn’t an option. I was on the second floor of the lake house. There was no safe passageway down. Maybe the door could hold them back. Luca said it was reinforced, or something. Only he had the codes to the outside keypad. The Hunters could never figure it out. Not with the way Luca programmed it.
I stepped back into the shower and watched the door. The lights picked up underneath and the metal door steamed. The color was now changing to a hot red.
The heat of the shower was warm, but that didn’t stop the goose bumps from forming on my skin. What could I do? Wait. There was something. One last tool I might be able to use. But could I make it work? I didn’t have time to think anymore about it. I had to try.
The luminous lights continued to spew in. The shade of the door managed to brighten even more, and the metal curled and bent in toward me.
I closed the curtain, then sat on the floor of the shower. The water beat down on my back as my thoughts focused. I blocked out the elements around me one by one. The crashing of the door grew to be inaudible. The electrified lights reaching for me like sick, twisted fingers of death became non-existent. The sounds of the shower silenced, and even the gentle hum of the birds outside went away. At that moment, nothing and no one was in my mind but him.
Luca? My thoughts pushed through the matter the way he showed me. Luca, please. Can you hear me? I couldn’t feel his mind like I could the day before. I couldn’t lose hope, though. I had to continue to try. Luca, you have to come back. They’re here. I can hear them. They’ve come for me, please!
I paused for a moment, but … nothing. I broke my connection. I couldn’t hear him. He couldn’t hear me. All I could do was wait until the life of the door let go of its fight.
The sounds hitting the door intensified. The door finally gave in with a crash to the bathroom tiles.
Jolting, I gazed up. The light in the room near-blinded me, even through the shower curtain.
I dipped my head and pulled my legs into my body. I mentally prepared for the same pain I experienced in the train yard. That excruciating pain that made me beg for the life to be taken from my body. I sniffed and choked, not able to contain my emotions. I didn’t see the point. The fear had once again taken me, and my tears melted into the fresh water, which cleansed me.
The light though the curtain grew brighter. The brightest I’d ever seen. The shower curtain screeched, and I looked down. My muscles locked up, bracing myself for the inevitable.
“Ariel!”
My head shot up. It was Luca. He was the reason the light was so bright. He fought the intruder. He saved me.
Luca jumped into the shower, then wrapped my naked body up within his arms. “Ariel, are you all right?”
I braced my arms around his neck and sobbed. The gray of his t-shirt became soaked by the shower water. “You heard me. You heard me,” I choked out.
He kissed my hair, and ran his hands up and down my back. “I did. I did, Ariel. You did so well. It is okay. It is okay. I am here.”
He slid his hands to my cheeks and kissed me.
I let him take me without hesitation. His kiss slowly relieved my fear.
He parted our lips, and rested his forehead against mine. “This is my fault. I should have listened to you.”
I sniffed. “How did they find us so quickly?”
“I do not know. I thought we had at least a week. I am so sorry.”
I pulled away from his embrace and looked into his eyes.
He slipped his hand into my hair and his eyes shifted as he stared at me. “We will leave tonight.”
*
The wind from the window whipped through my hair. The evening was dark and starlit. I ran my fingers along the window frame, and watched my reflec
tion in the side mirror.
Luca massaged my leg. This brought me comfort, but his healing touch didn’t help with my anxiety. We had no plan and no resources. And we now drove into what could only be darkness. I knew this was where we had to go, though. Luca wouldn’t fight with me anymore about it. This was right. It had to be. The fear that brewed inside me was still there, though. I could only imagine what we’d be walking into.
We pulled up to a gas station outside the state line, and I lifted my head from the sill.
Luca turned off the engine. “I will be right back. The air is a little low in the tires.”
I scrunched my eyebrows. “Wow. How do you know? Can you sense things like that?”
Luca laughed gently and pointed to the dashboard. The low air pressure light blinked.
I nodded. “Right.”
He fought a smile and opened his door.
I leaned up. “I’m going to the ladies room.”
He gave me a concerned look. “Be careful. Try to be discreet.”
“I will.” I winked at him.
He couldn’t help but smile back.
I grabbed my bag from the backseat. If we were going to be on the road for another five hours I might as well be comfortable in some looser clothes. I left the car and walked through the double doors of the gas station. The inside was eerily quiet, and I didn’t see anyone else around. I let out a sigh of relief. I really didn’t want to run into anyone. Both my people and Luca’s people were looking for me. It was best I went unnoticed. I headed toward the Restroom sign.
“Can I help you find somethin,’ ma’am?”
My body instantly covered in chills. I turned around slowly. There was a man standing in front of me. Tangled greasy hair, nose piercing between his nostrils, and a snake tattoo creeping out of his unwashed station attendant shirt. I didn’t like the look of this guy one bit, but other than his lack of cleanliness, he didn’t seem to propose any threat. I dipped my head down a bit, barely making eye contact. I hoped he didn’t get a good look at my face. He might have seen me on the news, or something. I’d be screwed if he realized who I was.
The Crimson Hunt Page 28
