The Crimson Hunt

by Smith, Victoria H.

  Luca laughed and I did, too. I hoped that, for now, the worst was over.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  The light of day zipped past us, and we traveled into its nighttime cover. Gemini drove and I sat in the backseat. Luca lay in my arms, resting with struggled breaths. There was nothing we could do for him. All I could do was hope we’d make it there in time. Hope the light of my day wouldn’t be extinguished.

  Gemini met my eyes through the rearview mirror. “Don’t worry, Ariel. Luca’s a fighter. He’ll make it.”

  I wanted to believe him. I tried to believe him. But as I watched Luca cringing in pain while he slept, it seemed we fought a losing battle. Every second that passed, was a second stolen away from his precious life. I managed to give Gemini a smile.

  Seeing my eyes, Gemini hummed. The night took me away, then, too. The magic of his tune rocked away my anxiety, and I went into a deep sleep.

  *

  My eyelids fought the rays of the sun at first. But then, I was reminded by their familiarity. I gazed around. My warm quilt covered me, and Luca lay close by my side. We were back. We made it home.

  I lifted the blankets to view his body. He was resting peacefully, but the white bandages across his ribs revealed the truth about his current condition. I wondered how bad the damage was. I didn’t want to disturb him, but I put my hand gently to his body, anyway. As if, somehow, I could remove his pain.

  He inhaled deeply at my touch.

  I quickly removed my hand, not wanting to wake him.

  Luca grabbed my hand and brought it back. “Do not do that.”

  He opened his bright eyes and kissed my hand. Putting his arms around me, he brought me in close to his body.

  I hugged him tight. My senses were quickly overwhelmed by his cool scent. I knew exactly what Piper would have said—wasted on me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.” I nuzzled into his chest.

  He gathered me closer and kissed the top of my head. “You know I could never be bothered by your touch,” he whispered.

  Smiling, I leaned into him, leaving soft kisses along his chest. “How are you feeling?”

  He breathed in deeply. “Well enough ….”

  I stopped my kisses and glanced up at him. “Well enough for what?” I eyed him.

  He met my eyes and gave a seemingly innocent smile. “Just …. Well enough.” He pulled me in even closer, yet.

  I quickly became lost in him. It seemed he would live, after all.

  *

  We stayed in that morning. No one came for us. Now, it was late afternoon, and the delicious smells of Bernadetta’s cooking became too much for us to resist. We walked down the stairs and into the kitchen together. Gemini’s melodic voice rang through the air the whole way.

  “Come on, Mrs. G. Just one more piece,” he pleaded with a song in his voice.

  His arm was in a sling. But from the looks of it, his handicap didn’t affect his charisma, or his appetite.

  “You know that magic voice of yours will never work on me, Gemini.” Bernadetta laughed. She pulled an entire chocolate mousse pie away from his aggressive fork.

  Gemini scoffed like a child and crossed his arms. His errant demeanor looked pretty flippin’ hilarious considering he was well over six feet tall and built like a tank.

  Giovanni laughed from behind his morning paper. When he noticed our arrival, he put the paper down.

  “You two make me nauseous.” Gemini’s face contorted in disgust. He glanced at the rooster clock on the wall. “I mean, really? It’s like 3 o’ clock in the damn afternoon.”

  “Watch your mouth at the table, Gemini, and let them alone.” Bernadetta eyed him.

  My face heated in embarrassment.

  Luca shook his head at Gemini and escorted me to a seat at the table. When we sat down, he laced his fingers in mine.

  “It is none of your concern, Gem.” Luca arched an eyebrow.

  “Well, I’m glad you two finally decided to grace us with your presence. We’ve been dying to know about this thing.” Gemini gestured toward Serene’s connection on the kitchen table. “I saw what it can do. Does she just come out at random?” His eyes lit up.

  “You know, you never did explain why you were in Craven’s office,” said Luca.

  “You guys set off an alarm and Craven summoned a bunch of us to take care of you. I got there before he even arrived, but couldn’t bring myself to. It didn’t feel right. I drew back, and watched as you two opened the book. Then, I witnessed his messed up confrontation with you. Later on, when I saw the crazy psycho was too much for you to handle, I stepped in.” He gave Luca a satisfied grin.

  “May I remind you, it was Ariel who saved us all?” Luca kissed me on the cheek.

  “Ah, yes. I forgot we’re in the presence of royalty.” Gemini stood and bowed to me. “Oh mighty, Bringer of Peace, please honor us by opening that damn—” His eyes met Bernadetta’s frown. “Umm … book. It’s driving me crazy. I need to know what else is inside.”

  “Be patient, Gemini. She has been through a lot, and she is the chosen one. Not you. Ariel does not have to show you anything if she does not want to.” Bernadetta cupped my chin.

  Luca gave Gemini a serious look, then glanced my way. “Let me know, if you need me to take care of him for you.” He eyed Gemini. “Or have you forgotten the events that occurred in the train yard that day, my friend?” He laughed.

  Gemini’s face turned sour. “You’re never going to let me live that down are you?”

  Luca shook his head and smiled.

  “Luca, I have a question.”

  He turned toward me.

  “Craven said he found us easily in Niagara Falls, but then we fell off the Hunters’ radar once I found my necklace. Why didn’t the Hunters find us while we were here on the farm?”

  Luca glanced at Gemini. “That day in the train yard, I left Gem a message inside his head after rendering unconscious.”

  Gemini crossed his arms and shook his head at him. His expression was a warm one, though.

  Luca gazed back to me. “He must have listened to me.”

  My eyebrows furrowed. “What was the message?”

  Luca’s eyes met Gemini’s again. “I asked him to wait. I told him if in two weeks, he had not heard from me, then I had left the program. Thereby, giving him permission to inform our superiors.”

  Gemini nodded. “I owed you that much, my friend.”

  Luca held out his hand and Gemini gave him a firm shake.

  I broke away from their bond and took in my surroundings. Bernadetta had joined Giovanni at the table. She held his hand and the two smiled warmly at Gemini, Luca, and me. This was the first time in my life that I had ever been around so many people who cared for me. I didn’t want it to end. I had to fight for them. I had to fight for them all. This was where I belonged. My true home.

  *

  “Ariel, is everything all right?” Luca joined me in the old barn.

  “Yeah, everything’s fine.” Sitting on the softness of the hay, I ran my hand over the book’s soft cover.

  He sat down beside me, then kissed me on the cheek. “You know, you still have a choice.”

  “I made my choice the day I met you. I guess I just didn’t know it.” I leaned my head against his.

  He slipped his arm around my waist and caressed my cheek with his fingertips. Without another word, he pressed his lips against mine.

  I placed the book down, not wanting to be distracted from him. We wrapped ourselves up in each other’s arms and lay down in the hay.

  “You know, we’re not going to get anything done, if you guys keep doing that.” Gemini’s voice came from the direction of the barn door.

  My face heated, again.

  We sat up, but Luca kept me wrapped in his arms. “Gem? A little bit of privacy?”

  Ignoring Luca’s statement, Gemini pulled up a creaky chair. He sat on the back of it and rested his arms on the top. “So, what’s next?”

  Luca a
rched an eyebrow.

  “What? You can’t expect me to sit out of this one. I’m along for the ride. Just lead the way, Ariel, and I’m there,” said Gemini.

  I gave him a half smile. “Thank you, Gemini.”

  He nodded. Bending down, he handed me the leather book.

  I opened the cover for the first time since Serene’s original message. She didn’t appear this time. She didn’t need to. I knew exactly what to do.

  Luca gazed over my shoulder, then looked into my eyes. He nodded in confirmation.

  Gemini raised his sculpted brows. “So ….”

  I lifted the book and showed him the page. “I say we find them. All of them.”

  Epilogue

  It didn’t take long to discover her whereabouts. She still lived in the same town and stayed in the same place. This was my second time seeing her. Now, this was the time to approach her. She sat on the stone bench again that day. She struggled once more over the content of her assignment. She looked so defeated and broken. This wasn’t the place for her, she knew that. She didn’t feel like she had another option, though. Today, I was going to give her that option.

  Luca warned me about messing with time, but I didn’t care. I needed her. We all needed her. Today, we would make an exception for her.

  Her hair was different. It was a soft, rich auburn, now. The curls of her locks loosened. Her freckles had faded, and her fair skin held only slight remnants of them. I knew it was her by the eyes, though. Those never change.

  I walked over to her and sat down. “What are you working on?”

  Her eyebrows narrowed. She looked confused, but not taken back. She was very busy and didn’t lift her eyes from her writing. “Umm, just one of those stupid science classes the school requires you to take. I swear, I’ll never get this crap.”

  I smiled at her response. “Why do you do it, then?”

  She sighed. “It’s my mom. She wanted me to go to college. She told me I shouldn’t waste my time on other things.” She threw her papers down in frustration, then put her head in her hands.

  “Other things?”

  She lifted her head and gazed at the windmill. “Yeah, my art. She doesn’t see the point, because I’ll be running her business, anyway.”

  “May I see some of your work?”

  The young woman’s defeated expression turned to that of excitement. She fumbled through her bag. Finding what she was looking for, she handed me a binder chock full of sketches and drawings.

  As I thumbed through the content, I knew my decision was correct. I stopped on the last page. “What of this one?” I turned the binder over to her.

  “Oh, that? That’s just something a friend gave to me long ago. It’s one of my favorites, though. I guess that’s why I bother to keep it in there.” A sweet smile formed across her lips.

  “I never thought it was my best work.”

  Her head shot up. She stared into my eyes for the first time since our meeting. Her emerald eyes shifted between mine. “Ariel?”

  I grabbed her hand and smiled. “Bailey, how would you like to be a part of something that will change your life?”

  Bonus Scene

  Luca secretly watches Ariel the day she leaves the Grinaldi house on her journey to the orchards.

  She left the house today. I watched her from over my writings as she strolled by the lake. I did not want her to detect me, so I eased into the shade of the oak tree. I did not want to cause her any more pain. I refused to be a hindrance to her any longer.

  The wind carried her long hair when she entered into the shallow end of the lake. The water caressed her at the ankles. The sun shone on her fair skin so exquisitely, that it was as if the light around her allowed the Earth to continue its rotation. Even the gentle songbirds could not resist her presence. One quickly approached her when her hand met the water to receive it.

  I felt dishonest watching her this way. It was as if I was spying on her sacred connection with the Earth around her. My eyes could not help but be drawn to her, though. Her essence could be no more resisted than a piece of bread to a starving child or the need for water on a blistering day. She was so pure, so natural. I could not help but be swept up by every part of her.

  It was Giovanni who discovered my private gaze.

  “She is very beautiful,” he said.

  He made a motion to sit beside me, concealed by the same coverage of the oak as I was.

  I looked at him, but did not respond. I could not respond.

  Giovanni watched the lake as I had been. He watched her. “She is one of them, is she not?”

  This was an honest question for him to ask. For when I brought her here from the night, I made sure to keep her identity a secret, so as to not alarm them. “How did you know?” I asked, though I already knew the answer. She was so different from our world. How could they not know of her identity?

  “Because I fell in love with one of them once.” His eyes did not break his connection with her.

  Disbelief overtook me.

  Giovanni noticed my state and explained. “It was before Bernadetta, when I was still a part of the program, as you are now.”

  This status I assumed about Giovanni, but up until this moment, I dare not ask him about it. It was not appropriate to discuss such matters as program history with elders, but his willingness to talk about it allowed me to push the matter. “What happened?”

  “One day I decided to tell her. Everything. I decided I did not care what the repercussions were. My feelings were too strong, and I could not fight them anymore.”

  My eyes grew wide. “How did she receive you?”

  Giovanni looked at me and smiled, his usual kindness in his eyes. “She told me she already knew. She was just waiting for me to let her in.”

  Confusion settled itself upon me. “Where is she now, Giovanni?”

  Giovanni’s face twisted with pain. “That night they came for her. I was faced with the choice of fighting, revealing my deception to my Anchor, or letting her go.”

  I watched Giovanni’s silver eyes. The grief and regret in them told me he let her go. An ache in my heart occurred just then, my body reflecting emotion. I always made sure to contain my emotions, but this time it could not be helped. I understood the hurt Giovanni must still feel for his lost love. I could not help but share this feeling.

  “I do not regret my life with Bernadetta, but I do regret my decision that day. I let my fear make my decision for me, instead of my heart,” he said.

  The power of his words overtook my thoughts. Giovanni was very wise. He would never tell me something he did not want me to take heed to. I looked to his eyes. “Why did you reach out to me?” Further communication was strictly forbidden between Hunters and our placement families, so when I received word from the Grinaldi’s many months ago, I was taken aback, to say the least. I thought it best to keep the information from my Anchor, though. The action was too out of the ordinary to not explore further.

  Giovanni put his hand on my shoulder. “Because I could see myself in you. When you were young you would always question. You were always so eager to know everything. The day they took you we knew your curiosity would lessen, but no matter what they did to you they would never be able to eradicate it. We both knew one day you would make your way back to us.”

  Giovanni rose to depart, leaving me with my thoughts. He turned back toward me after what I thought were his final words. “Give her time, Luca. She will come back to you again and when she does do not let your fear control you.” Giovanni departed into the tall blades of the prairie.

  I watched Ariel as she made her way toward the orchards. My mind still battled the decision I would soon have to make.

  Acknowledgements

  Wow, I can’t believe it’s actually time to make this section of this journey. I’ve been reading books my whole life and never really thought about this part of the novel. Without this section, books can never be made. The peeps listed here are an author’s Justice Leag
ue; their team of confidants and supporters who helped them get to this point of the novel—The End. I’m so happy I get to share with the world all the people who stood by me and gave me their support.

  Well, of course, I have to thank my parents. They’ve been nothing but great since I told them I was writing, and I hope my little story makes you both proud! And a special thanks to you, Mom, for that stellar rolling briefcase you gave me to carry my laptop to and from Barnes and Noble with. My shoulder thanks you that it no longer has to deal with that blasted messenger bag.

  My bro. Thanks, kid, for the hipster inspiration. Ariel wouldn’t be who she is without studying your world. You’re too cool, and thanks for always being there to bounce ideas off of.

  A general thanks to the rest of my family. You’ve all been so supportive in helping spread the word about my book. I hearts your all!

  Those cool peeps at Barnes and Noble for providing me lattes and letting me sit at your café tables for five – eight hours a day. Seventy-five percent of my book was written here, and I’ll never forget that.

  The most awesomest ladies in the world—The NA Sisters! You ladies rock my socks, and I’m so happy to have met all of you across the web. I couldn’t have a stronger bunch of friends helping me fight the good fight for New Adult fiction over at NA Alley. Thanks so much!

  All of the awesome readers of NA Alley and my personal blog. You’ve all been so supportive and make me want to do what I do every day. Seeing your awesome comments and words of support mean so much more than you’ll ever know. You make this whole writing thing worthwhile!

  The readers. You’re all amazing, and I do what I do because of you!!!

  My blogger friends! You all rock so much. I’ve been blessed by being both a book blogger and an author blogger. Sitting on that line, I’ve gotten to enjoy both worlds and make friends on both sides. You all do so much in the fiction world and I cherish every one of your friendships.