Rowen picked up the explanation, “After some of what he heard on his side, he came to collect you himself. When Bethany told us you’d already left, Caius came straight here while I rounded everyone up.”
“I don’t understand.” And I didn’t. Not at all.
“Enough!” Andre roared, lunging toward Caius. Searing pain cut across my abdomen. Panic surged through me and a shield of shimmering light sprang up in front of us. I sensed Andre’s claws rake across it as Caius pushed me under the edge of the bridge.
As Midtween wavered out of view, the last thing I saw was Rowen, and the reapers with him, leaping toward the demonborn.
***
“She won’t die, not for this.” ~Caius
Chapter 28
A sharp, cold wind cut across my face as I stumbled away from the arched opening of a cave. Tall pines filled my view in every direction. I pressed my hands to my stomach, feeling the warm wetness of my own blood.
Turning, I found Caius a few steps behind me. Fully back in his human form, he held one hand tight against the rips across the front of his shirt while the other hand fished a bottle of the dark replenisher demonborn used from the pack he’d dropped on the ground. After pulling the cork with his teeth, he spit it on the ground and upended the tube in his mouth.
Yanking open my cloak, I pulled my shirts up a little and looked down at my own bleeding torso. The slashes on me weren’t as deep as Caius’s. I dug into my own pack for my replenisher, pulled the stopper off and dumped the luminescent, pale blue liquid down my throat.
It didn’t take long for it to go to work. Within seconds, the tears across my stomach were healing and the bleeding stopped. Weird, it usually took a few minutes to work, but then they’d been pretty shallow, only a reflection of Caius’s injury.
I put the empty vial back in the pack and turned to Caius, who already looked completely repaired. “Do you always heal that fast?”
“As deep as Andre’s claws went, it would have taken a little longer without the replenisher.” He slung his pack over his shoulder. “We should get going.”
“Wait. What in the nine hells just happened back there?” Now that I was no longer bleeding, fear for my friends rushed through me. “Why did Rowen just lead a bunch of reapers to their deaths?”
“There was a lot of talk about you on my side of the river, a lot of demonborn wanting you dead. I figured it might be best if you didn’t go to the bridge alone,” Caius said as he straightened his cloak.
“Why do they want me dead all of the sudden? Because of my half-angel blood?” Damn Elijah and his need to break the law.
“It’s more than that.” He hesitated as if unsure whether or not to continue. “Did you speak with Alaric?”
I snorted. “I had to since he saw fit to shout my name across a room full of reapers. Not that it did much good. I’m pretty sure he’s lying to me and keeping things from me.”
“We’ve both been lied to.” Caius swept the area around us with an angry gaze and then started walking north. As I followed, he continued, “I asked Sinmar if he knew anything about the dagger having another purpose or a three-part explanation. He looked me in the eye and told me no.”
“And this makes you think he’s lying because…” I shifted my pack to a more comfortable position and stepped carefully over the slender trunk of a young, fallen tree.
“Though he made a good show of making eye contact, there was enough hesitation in his answer to refute his claim. After so many years, it becomes easy to tell when someone is lying.”
“What does that have to do with why the demonborn want me dead so bad? I mean, I know there’s been talk in the Heavens and Hells, but I didn’t realize that extended to Midtween.”
“Not everyone in Midtween, or even the Heavens and Hells, were aware of your heritage. Or the bond. Someone has chosen to let both those secrets out in the time we were gone.”
I narrowed my eyes at his back and scrambled over another log. “You know, I’ve had enough lying for one day. So if you aren’t going to tell me the truth, don’t say anything.”
Caius turned and looked me full in the face. “I have not, nor will I ever, lie to you.”
His gaze was steady on mine, his voice full of conviction. Then again, he was a demonborn that had been around for I didn’t even know how long. It might be hard for others to get a lie past him, but I was sure he was quite adept at making a lie sound like the truth.
I pushed past him and took the lead. “Everyone knows my heritage. It’s what makes me a freak everywhere I go.”
“Not everyone, not even you.”
Something about the way he said it raised the hairs on my arms. I stopped and spun to face him so fast he nearly ran into me and had to take a few steps back to put space between us.
“And what is that supposed to mean?” I crossed my arms, more than fed up with all of the enigmatic comments.
Caius sighed and ran a hand through his raven black hair. “Rowen hoped to be able to explain this to you.”
“Just say it.” I couldn’t help the resigned tone of my voice. Obviously, it was something that was going to set me apart even more.
Caius walked over to a low boulder and sat on it. The chill wind sighed through the tops of the trees while lower down birds sang about the coming of winter. Just as I was about to snap at him, Caius finally broke his silence. “You know of the Morrigan.”
That wasn’t what I expected. I searched quickly through my memories of what I learned in the mortal world. They hadn’t spoken much of her in Midtween. “I don’t know much about her. I think she chooses who will die in battle or something like that.”
Caius chuckled. “She is much, much more than that. She is the oldest of all the gods. She is the creator of life itself and the destruction of it. Powerful beyond measure, she reflects the light in the dark and reveals the dark within the light. She was the first to lead souls to the river. The one for whom the cycles of life and death turn.”
“If she is all that, then why wasn’t there more about her in the mortal world or even when I was learning about everything in Midtween?” It seemed strange that a goddess so powerful wouldn’t be mentioned.
“The mortal world has largely forgotten her. There are stories, however, most are wrong. There are plenty on our side of the veil that would like to forget her as well. She was the beginning; she will also be the end.” Caius looked at the forest around us as if she would pop out from behind a tree. “Ten thousand years ago, she grew weary from her long tenure and the constant squabbling between the realms. She brought the veils down between the worlds, to keep things balanced. Then she went to sleep and has been since.”
“As fascinating as that is, what does it have to do with me?”
Caius continued as if I hadn’t asked the question, “Though angels were forbidden to lay with mortals long before this, there were still plenty with angel heritage living in the mortal world. When the veils came down, all of those with traces of angel or demon blood became residents of Midtween. Creatures the mortals think of as fantasy took the wider realm of Between. All of Morrigan’s children also chose to reside in Midtween.”
“Morrigan’s children?” I knew that at one time angels and demons mixed freely with the mortal world, and even some lesser gods, but the most powerful goddess?
“Yes, her children. Not conceived between her and mortals. They were created from herself, each with their own different genetics so they could be fruitful with each other without inbreeding.
“Rowen, and those that accompanied him to the bridge, are all her descendants, her children as far as Morrigan would be concerned. All of the reapers and guardians have traces of angel blood in them, except Rowen and those in his group. They have no angel blood in their veins. The blood of Morrigan runs in theirs. Not the purest, since most of her direct children also mixed with mortals.”
“With mortals, but not with angels or demons?” Despite wanting him to hurry up and get to the point
, I was also completely intrigued by all of it.
“Never with angels or demons, or even those with angel or demon blood. That mix has always been expressly forbidden. And that is the true crime your father committed. As serious a crime as lying with a mortal is for an angel, lying with a Child of Morrigan is far more grievous.” Caius turned his gaze from the forest to look directly at me. “Miranda, your mother, carried some of the purest Morrigan blood we’ve ever seen. How she ended up in the mortal realm, no one knows. It was thought all of the purest lines were dead. Because of the high concentration of Morrigan blood, she must have masked herself, making her essentially invisible to us. The same way she kept you masked until her death.”
“And yet Elijah found her.” I was once again furious with him for screwing everything up.
“It is believed Miranda found him. One touch and your father would have known what she was. He shouldn’t have been in the mortal world to begin with. I guess once he discovered your mother, he decided if he was going to end up in Hell’s pits, he might as well go there in style.”
I turned away from the sympathy I saw in Caius’s eyes. I didn’t want his sympathy. I wanted to strangle Elijah with his own damned wings. Of course, he would have to have wings for that to work. “So what does that make me then?”
“Your Morrigan blood is almost as pure and strong as your angel blood. You have a trace amount of mortal human blood in you as well. Now, with the partial bond, you also have some demon blood flowing in your veins. All of which makes you extremely dangerous,” Caius said as he stood.
I chewed on my thumbnail for a moment and then snorted. “Yeah, I’m so dangerous. To what, an eater? I’m just a reaper. My angel half lets me draw my power for longer than a normal reaper, but I’m not anything special.”
And I didn’t want to be either. I was entirely sick to death of being something different. People who wanted to be special were stupid; they had no idea what they were wishing for.
“You have barely begun to scratch the surface of your angel powers and, from what I can tell, your Morrigan powers are completely untapped. You are young, both in years and experience. As you grow in both, you will find your extra strengths.” He resumed walking.
What could I do, stomp off into the woods and throw a fit? That wouldn’t accomplish much. With a sigh, I followed him. “What extra strengths?”
“Those given to you by Morrigan and those in your angel heritage. It’s why Rowen was confident in coming to the bridge. When experienced, the Children of Morrigan are a match for normal demonborn, though they would have more trouble against any born of Archdemons.” He glanced over his shoulder and smiled. “It’s why I prevented those young demonborn with me from engaging any of you that night in the city. There were a few of you, like the red-head and that other young girl, that haven’t grown into their strength yet. They could have been easily taken down by the young demonborn.
“That, however, would have led to a confrontation with Rowen and the other older reapers in your group. Though they aren’t that much older than you, three of them have grown into their heritage. It wasn’t worth losing the young demonborn over. Not when there are plenty of mortals for them to hunt.”
I shot him a disgusted look. “You speak so easily of killing reapers.”
Caius shrugged. “In my younger years, I killed plenty of them. The traces of angel in them makes their blood like no other. And the energy from their souls lasts for years. It was a heady experience.”
“Nice to know you enjoyed it so much. Makes me twice as glad I finished the bond no matter what you wanted or claimed.” We moved into an open area and the wind tossed my hair into my face.
I brushed it away in irritation and found Caius staring down at me. “It’s been about five-hundred years since I’ve killed a reaper. Even then it wasn’t for pleasure, though I can’t deny I enjoyed the benefits. I have only rarely taken even mortal blood since then and only killed while doing it when the person was deserving of it. Think what you will of us, Reaper. Once we mature, we are not the vicious, bloodthirsty lot you’ve painted us to be.”
We walked in silence. Honestly, I think my remark insulted him. What did he expect though? He goes on about how tasty reapers are and then expects me to just feel all warm and fuzzy about it? I still felt better with the bond as a deterrent to him suddenly getting a craving.
As if he read my thoughts he said, “It would be incredibly unwise of me to drink heavily from you. It would strengthen the bond which would not be a good idea. Consuming your soul is completely out of the question. There is so much Morrigan and angel, your soul is almost half and half. It would probably kill me to take it.”
Not interested in discussing the demon cons of my blood and soul I said, “So everyone is ultra pissed because Elijah made babies with a child of Morrigan. Must be a pretty severe crime.”
“The highest that can be committed. If Morrigan were to wake and discover you, her displeasure would be felt by everyone.” Caius paused and held a branch out of my way.
“Great, so now I have to worry about her wanting to kill me too.” I stepped under his outstretched arm.
He let the branch go and walked beside me. “You? No. She adores all of her children. Elijah and the gods in the Heavens that didn’t keep him under control will be in serious trouble though. Because of our shared blood, so will the demonborn and all who reside in the Hells.”
“Well that’s just freaking fantabulous. So basically, everyone would like to kill me and sweep it all under the rug so when she wakes, she’ll never know it happened?” My stomach rolled with an uneasy feeling.
“For the most part.”
“And why not you? Did you protect me back at the bridge because of the bond?” I frowned at him, unsure of where I stood with him.
“You have done nothing to deserve a death sentence. Your only crime was being born, and that is no crime. No matter what you are mixed with.”
He said it with such vehemence I wondered what created the strong feelings in him about the subject. Demonborn were supposed to be ruthless killers of anything they could sink their teeth into. “I hadn’t realized with all of the happy hunting of reapers and killing of mortals that you held any sanctity for life.”
“Demons don’t usually care one way or the other.” Caius shrugged. “Some demonborn don’t either. There’s bad in every group. But the majority don’t just slaughter whoever is within reach. It may seem so to any on the outside looking in, but most mortals that are killed by demonborn are carefully chosen targets. And, before you ask, children are never targeted. Ever.”
“I’m not a child.” I may still require a guide, but I was nineteen. By mortal world rules, I was an adult. Since that’s where I was raised, it’s how I still measured adulthood even if I wasn’t a part of that world anymore. Even in Midtween, I was treated as an adult, beyond the need for permission to otherside which was for my safety, not because I wasn’t old enough.
“No, you aren’t a child. The fact remains that your only crime is being born. It’s not like you were given a choice of parents.”
“Elijah was a sperm donor, not a parent.” He was an ass who left while my mother was still pregnant with me. Left her to raise me and my sister, and to fight through breast cancer without a partner at her side.
My sister…
I grabbed Caius’s arm. “What about Victoria? They will be after her too!”
I started to turn back the way we had come, but Caius’s hand on my arm stopped me. “You don’t have to worry about Victoria.”
“Caius, she’s my sister. If they want me dead, they will want her dead.” I tried to pull away. “We have to go back and help her.”
“She has no Morrigan blood.”
I froze, my gaze locked on his as he said, “Victoria has to contend with being half-angel, however, there is no Morrigan blood in her veins.”
My mouth opened and closed a couple of times before I finally got words to come out. “But, w
e have the same parents.”
“No.” Caius shook his head. “You have the same father. Victoria’s mother died giving birth to her. Elijah found your mother a couple of weeks later. She agreed to be Victoria’s mother. With the real mother dead and the father approving, it only took a short time for it to be made official. As soon as it was, Elijah left.”
“Before I was even born,” I mumbled. Caius released my arm and I let it fall to my side. Everyone had lied to me it seemed. Everyone except the demonborn standing in front of me. Everything was so confusing and twisted up.
I started walking again. Caius fell in beside me and, thankfully, remained quiet. We trudged through the woods in silence, occasionally climbing over fallen trees. It would have been easier to fly but that used up energy faster and I wouldn’t be able to carry my pack. Besides, the walk gave me time to get the hurt I felt under control, time to build walls around it.
***
“She deserved to know the truth. She deserved to know all of it. Most of it would have to do until she could speak with Rowen.” ~Caius
Chapter 29
The day crawled by. It felt like we’d been hiking forever, slowly climbing higher, when the woods finally opened up to reveal a wall of massive stones stacked on top of one another. Cut at right angles, they didn’t look like a natural formation even though several pines dotted the tops of them. I stared, trying to fathom how stones, large enough for trees to grow on them, could be moved even today, much less whenever they were put there.
Caius glanced at me and chuckled. “These were built before the veils came down. This is not the work of mortal humans.”
The formation loomed over us as we hiked the final stretch to it. My legs were feeling the strain by the time we reached the immense blocks. The stones were stacked in such a way that, occasionally, narrow tunnels ran between them.
My searching gaze found what I now knew would be nearby. A rock, that didn’t seem quite like a real rock. “I’m guessing we need that?”
Unveiled (Raven Daughter Book 1) Page 18
