There were a few humans strolling together, and up the way a cafe was still open with people outside at the little tables drinking coffee and eating dessert.
“I’m going to cloak us so they can’t see us disappear,” Caia warned Phoebe and shielded them both as Mordecai had taught her in glamour class. And just like that, they stepped back into the Centre, leaving behind a loathsome sight that only Caia would ever carry in her memories.
19 - Sweet Midnight
“Argh, I knew this was coming,” Dimitri groaned, his face crumpled in defeat.
Ryder raised an eyebrow expectantly, his heart hammering in his chest. “Is that a yes?” He glanced between Dimitri and Julia, knowing his hope was out in plain view, so easy to shatter with one little word.
The thought of never having Jaeden in his life was excruciating now. Despite their attempts to not see each other over the last few days, they seemed to be connected inextricably. She had explained that there had been no more nightmares since the night he had suggested they might be mates. She had demonstrated how much control she was gaining on her telekinesis, arriving at his apartment exuberant and pleased with her progress over at Lucien’s. Since Vil and Laila’s arrival he hadn’t been able to leave the apartment, so Jae had come over at the end of the day bringing food for everyone, and catching him up on her activities. They had only grown closer, but he hadn’t been able to relieve her of her fears over Laila. The food she brought for Vil and his girlfriend was handed over quickly before she departed for his bedroom, the room furthest away from the room he had given to his guests. He, on the other hand, had gotten to know them as much as he could over the last 48 hours. Vil was a quiet, staid, young warlock who was extremely protective of the fragile creature who never left his side. He had told Ryder bits and pieces of his life growing up in a household where his elder brothers were respected soldiers in the Centre’s First Unit. Fighting wasn’t really in his blood, in fact he couldn’t quite wrap his head around this inane war, as he called it, and whilst home for his break he had come across Laila. She had escaped from a Midnight army base under Ethan’s control. She wouldn’t discuss what had happened to her there but it was enough to cement a loathing in her blood for the Midnights. Vil had found her starving to death and had hidden her and coaxed her back to health. During which, they had fallen in love, and she had convinced him he should take her back to the Centre so she could learn to fight for the Daylights. Marita had her thrown in the containment centre almost immediately. Marita had dismissed him, sure that his had not been an act of disloyalty but naivety, and in the end he had helped her apprehend a Midnight. Vil had been trying to find a way to break her out of the prison ever since, but he didn’t have the power a magik needed to do it and he didn’t trust anyone enough at the Centre to help him. And then Caia had come to him, ‘like an angel’ he had described softly, making Ryder smile. The little witch had that effect on people. Caia had said she could feel Laila’s goodness, was adamant the girl posed no threat to the Daylights. She wouldn’t stand back and let the girl suffer. Vil had believed her since he had nowhere else in which to place his faith. And the rest Ryder knew. It was hard to imagine the gentle creature that gazed so adoringly at Vil could cause anyone any harm but he knew how deceptive they could be.
Atia and Adriana Vang had proven that. But Caia believed, and strangely he did too.
Jaeden on the other hand was not so quick to trust.
“Why isn’t Jaeden with you?” Julia asked, seeming amused by his proposal.
He locked eyes with her so she wouldn’t suspect him of lying. “I felt this was something that I ought to do alone, man to... parents.” In truth she was reluctantly watching over his guests at his apartment whilst he moved their potential mating along a little faster.
Julia swallowed a chuckle, her eyes dancing with delight. “Well I’m all for it.”
Dimitri glared at his wife. “We just got her back.”
“And you think denying her the right to a mating ritual with the man she loves will entice her to stay?” His mate grunted at him.
He pinned Ryder to the wall with his gaze, his nostrils seeming to huff with steam like a bull getting ready to charge. And then, just like that, the air appeared to deflate out of him and he threw his hands up in surrender. “Fine!” He snapped. “You have my blessing to mate with my only daughter... you bastard.”
Ryder whooped jubilantly and grabbed the big guy in a hug. Dimitri huffed and slapped him, hard, on the back, sending him over to Julia who was the next target for his joy.
“Now you have to wait for Lucien,” his soon to be father-in-law reminded him slyly.
Ryder shrugged, his grin refusing to desist. “His return shouldn’t be long now. Then we can get straight to the mating... err... ritual.”
Dimitri glowered red.
“Uh.” Julia giggled nervously.“I think you better leave... Ryder... now... leaAVE!”
He was out the door like lightning, Dimitri’s snarls still snapping at his behind like little angry ghosts.
***
The witch still made her uneasy, despite Ryder’s defence of her. Jae knew the girl didn’t look like much, but Midnights were slippery, vicious creatures who knew how to get under the skin. She sat stiffly in a chair by the window, whilst Vil and Laila snuggled together on the sofa, munching on the snacks Jaeden had brought over with her. The reason why she was here made her smile softly, wondering if Ryder would get the answer they both needed.
“You know you don’t have to be afraid of us,” Vil’s serene voice suddenly penetrated her musings.
Jaeden snapped to alert and grunted, “I’m not afraid of you. Her... not so sure of.”
Laila’s huge blue eyes widened even further as she looked up and over at her. Jaeden felt an unexpected twinge of guilt at the hurt she saw shimmering there.
“I would never hurt anyone,” she whispered.
Vil shushed her, squeezing her closer, soothing her pain.
Why can’t I shrug the guilt? Jae growled at herself, looking back up at Laila. The Midnight was still staring at her, and as their eyes locked Jaeden saw something in the magiks that was intimately familiar. Familiar... because that haunted look had once reflected back at her every time she gazed into a mirror. Ryder’s voice echoed in her head.
I’m telling you Jae, they’re OK. Vil seems like a stand up guy, and Laila… well she won’t tell anyone, including Vil, what happened to her back at that camp, but I’m telling you it was enough to make her hate them.
“Can I speak with Laila alone?” She suddenly asked, standing over the two of them.
Vil frowned, eyeing her warily. “I don’t think so.”
“I’m not going to hurt her.”
“No, she-”
“It’s OK.” Laila placed a placating hand on his arm and he glanced at her sharply.
“You are sure?”
“Yes.”
“OK. I’ll be down the hall if you need me.” He got up and threw Jaeden a stern, warning look before he left.
She settled on the arm of the sofa, scrutinizing Laila, who had moved back a little from her. “What happened at this camp, this army camp?”
The magik shook her head. “I don’t talk about it.”
“If I’m to trust you I need to know about this camp.”
She shrugged helplessly. “It was... just a camp.”
“Under Ethan’s control?”
“Yes.”
“So...” Jaeden searched for the right phrase. “It was like special ops?”
“What is… special ops?”
“You know, like a government operation designed to... let’s say win a war, when normal tactics aren’t moving things along as nicely as one would like.”
Laila snorted, her ethereal face twisted in disgust. It was the most negative emotion Jaeden had seen her emit.“Yes. You could say it was this special ops you speak of.”
A moment of silence fell between them as Jaeden worked herself towar
ds posing her next question. She blew out a shaky breath, her voice going husky as her own memories swept through her. “Did it involve torture?”
The witch’s mouth fell open in surprise, her eyes round with torment. “Why...?”
“I’ll take that as a yes then.”
Laila shook her head. “I don’t... I can’t... I-”
“I’ve been there, Laila,” Jae whispered, not even sure why she was telling the girl something so personal. Perhaps she knew it might be the only way to get information from her. “Ethan... personally kept me in a cage. He tortured me. For weeks. Although it felt like years.”
Her young face crumpled in empathy and she reached out to place a cool hand on Jaeden’s wrist. She was surprised by the gesture, for Laila had only allowed Vil near her since their arrival. As her hand withdrew from her, Jaeden’s pain at the memories dissipated, leaving a warm peace lingering in its wake. Relaxing back into the sofa, she smiled sadly at the Midnight. “Is that what happened to you?”
The girl nodded rigidly.
“Why?”
A tear slid down her pale face. “It was a behavioural modification camp for magiks. He took children of magiks from all over, I come from Halmstad, but others came from Grena, Oslo... all over Scandinavia. He told our parents he was going to train us to be an elite force. It was an honour to be chosen. Instead, he used all measures of control - withholding food, brainwashing... all to turn us into an elite force that would only answer to his command, no matter the order.”
“Like daemons.”
Revulsion passed over Laila’s face. “Like daemons. But so much more powerful.”
“Why the torture? Was that part of it?”
She shook her head wildly, and Jaeden was surprised to see an almost smug smile form on her lips. “His men couldn’t break me. So they tortured me in an attempt to subdue me.”
Horror rippled through Jaeden at the thought of what this frangible creature had gone through.
“How did you escape?”
A cold, ferocious look froze over her face. “The oldest trick in the book.”
“Being?”
“One of the warlocks had an... unhealthy interest in me.”
No, no, no, Jae pulled back, he didn’t... oh goddess.
“Don’t worry,” Laila assured her, “They had orders not to touch us that way. It could have a disturbing affect on the controls. But this one.” She shuddered. “He would sneak in some touching, petting.”
“Bastard,” Jaeden snarled.
The witch looked startled at her vehemence before throwing her a grateful smile. “I used it against him, though. I pretended an interest in him, which is probably the most difficult thing I have ever had to do, and he took me from the cage and snuck me out towards the back of the camp. He turned his back for a second and I knocked him out with a spell my mother had taught me years before. Stupid man.” She shook her head in disgust. “I stole his keys to his car, got a few miles away before I abandoned it and set off on foot, confusing my trail as I went. I thought Ethan would find me... but he never came.”
Jaeden snorted. “Yeah, cos’ he was dead.”
“He is dead then?” Laila queried quietly, her haunted eyes begging for an affirmative.
“Caia killed him.”
“She helped save me from prison... and now this news. It seems I will be forever in her debt.”
A sense of connection threaded its way between them and Jaeden smiled warmly at her for the first time. “The way that girl is going, we’re all going to be in her debt.”
The sound of the front door slamming pulled them from Laila’s tale, and Ryder strolled in, an obvious look of surprise on his face at the sight of them sitting together.
“Everything OK?” He queried, his eyes flicking between them.
“I was just going to ask that?” Vil hurried in now, his anxious gaze locked on Laila. She smiled at him, holding her hand out to draw him to her.
Visibly relaxing, he moved towards her like a magnet. Jaeden huffed in amusement at the suspicious look he levelled at her and jumped up towards Ryder, wrapping her arms around his waist, snuggling close to him. “Everything is good actually.” She searched his eyes, attempting to find the answer he had received this evening from her parent’s. “Everything is good?”
“What did I miss?”
“Ryder?” She whined.
“I’ll tell you if you tell me what happened here.”
She groaned and pulled away from him. “You’re a pain. Fine. Laila and I understand one another now, and I believe Caia when she says Laila is a good Midnight, who would have thought. Now tell me what my father said.”
All of a sudden he laughed and grabbed her, whirling around the room. “Yes!”
“Yes?”
“Yes!”
“Oh my god-” he smothered her words with a passionate kiss. A discreet cough pulled them apart a few seconds later and they turned, smiling, to see Reuben lounging in the doorway. Immediately she felt Ryder tense.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to see how your guests were faring, but obviously I’m interrupting a celebration.”
Vil grinned. “Jaeden’s parents are allowing them to mate.”
Reuben remained passive, not giving anything away. “How nice for them.”
“Reuben.” Jae made a move towards him, hating to hurt her friend. “I’m glad you’re here. I want you to be here for the ceremony. You’ve been through so much with me it would feel weird without you.”
“No it wouldn’t,” Ryder growled, brushing past her to stand bristling at the taller vampyre. “For a start my guests are none of your business.”
“I was merely curious. She is a Midnight after all.”
Ryder scoffed, his fists curling into knots. “We both know why you’re here, you son of a bitch.”
Jaeden fought an oncoming headache. “Ryder-”
“Son of a bitch?” Reuben stood up straight now, all evidence of passivity gone, and replaced with a stony anger. “I’m the son of a bitch? You’ve done nothing but hassle me since I got here.”
“Because you’re always here!”
“I’m her friend. I’m not going anywhere.”
“We’ll see-”
“Guys!” She shouted, looking desperately to Laila and Vilhelm for help. They were no good. They were already sliding quietly from the room to disappear into their bedroom.
“You have no right turning up all the time, that’s all I’m saying.”
“I came here to see if the boy and the girl were OK. That they weren’t causing any trouble, that’s all.”
“That’s what you can’t seem to wrap around your thick skull... this isn’t your business.”
“Whatever’s coming I’m more equipped to deal with it than you, lykan.”
“Enough with the prophet crap, it’s wearing on my nerves, vampyre.”
“You’re such a child.”
“I’m-”
Their argument drifted out of ear shot as she slammed out of the apartment and down the stairs out of the building. Half the time she didn’t think their inane arguing even had anything to do with her. Her headache throbbed harder.
A run.
A run would be good to work out everything that had happened this evening. Laila’s sorrowful tale, the bond that she had felt forging between them, the idea that Midnights might not all be bad (sheesh who saw that coming?), her official engagement to Ryder, and his inability to function normally in a room with Reuben.
Yeah, a run would be great.
Trying to throw off her irritation at Ryder and Reuben, Jae mused over Laila, feeling an impatience growing for Caia and Lucien to return so they could work this all out. With relief, she pulled into Lucien’s driveway and walked across the gravel and up on to the porch. She didn’t bother going through the house, knowing they would hear her strolling around to the back porch and would work out for themselves who was there. That impatience she felt bubbli
ng in her skin changed into an impatience for the run. Jae jerked out of her clothes and she suddenly wished she could be like Caia. Ryder had described how she could change into a wolf instantly now, how she could run into the woods in human legs and soar into the change. It sounded wonderful. But as her muscles strained in the burn of the change, and as her bones cracked with eye-watering satisfaction, she knew she wouldn’t give up this feeling for anything. Distantly she wondered if Caia missed it. The cool night air rushing through her pelt was exactly what the doctor ordered. She crunched through pinecones, ran at full speed towards a tree, and launched herself at it only to bound off of it and race in the opposite direction.
With the run, her mind cleared, replete and calm.
After a while she grew exhausted, and so made her way back to Lucien’s backyard, leisurely and purposely slowing the change back into human form. Jaeden smiled, stretching her muscles from top to bottom and yawning. With a final roll of her neck she began shuffling back into her clothes.
On the last button of her shirt, her ears pricked up at a loud crack that came from the woods close by. She sniffed the air and an unfamiliar sweet scent she couldn’t quite identify swam up her nostrils. She hadn’t quite turned around to investigate when pain shot through her head and dark spots clouded her vision, swallowing her whole as they multiplied into a thick black tar.
***
“I can’t believe this. It’s all your fault!” Ryder railed at the vampyre as they followed Jaeden’s scent.
Reuben snorted. “You started it.”
“She’s probably furious at me. At you. I can’t believe she left without me evening knowing it. It’s your fault. You piss me off past rationality.”
“It’s always nice to be appreciated.”
“Don’t make me come over there, vampyre.”
“I’m shaking in my boots.”
Ryder bared his teeth and swung the truck viciously into Lucien’s driveway so that the vampyre slapped against the passenger door with an ‘oof’.
River Cast: Part Two in the Tale of Lunarmorte Page 21
