Mathieu (White Flame Trilogy)

by Paula Flumerfelt

  "Believe what you wish. I must say, however, I did not expect Erik's son to look so...feminine. Your face is that of your mother's." Anastasie grinned like a cat before continuing, "So tell me, Mathieu, have you come to receive the gift of change your mother denied you of? If you are, I'm sorry to say you are too old, and Vincent has received what was meant to be yours." He hand was like a small bird, flitting to touch the shoulder of the teenager next to him. The teenage boy looked around suddenly, eyes meeting Mathieu's. Then he looked away.

  Mathieu raised a brow. "I didn’t come for your curse. As part of your bloodline, I am requesting your assistance."

  "Continue." She commanded.

  "As I am sure you're aware, Unith and Korinth are struggling for dominance of the country. Unith wants to wage war, to take our trade routes and fertile land, forcing us from our home. Before they can strike, we plan to invade and take the castle. We plan to unify the land and share the prosperity." Mathieu said in a measured way.

  She laughed, "And what concern are your petty squabbles to me?"

  "Because if the king takes over, he won't just leave the Outer Zone alone. You'll be next on his hit list. After all, the Roman’s are a source of tension for Unith.” Mathieu had done his homework about his lineage the night before. A long time ago, the Romans had been a predominant advocate for the freedom of Korinth. They had a military of their own back then and had driven back every advance of Unith to take over. Over the years, however, Korinth and the Romans had stopped seeing eye-to-eye; Korinth’s leaders wanted peace and equality, while the Romans wanted to have a dictatorial hand over the people. The Romans had subsequently retreated into the mountains of the Outer Zone, and since then had been the enemy of both countries.

  Anastasie's eyes narrowed, clearly turning his statement over in her mind. "What would you need of me?"

  " My forces and I are going to take the castle, however we need to get there as quickly as possible, meaning we don't have time to seize every city. All I need from you is to lock down the cities we don’t travel through, and stop any reinforcements from coming to help Ateri. Their military resistance should be minimal." Mathieu gave a silent prayer that she'd agree.

  Shrewd eyes looked over Mathieu. "For arguement's sake, pretend I agree. What do I gain from this?"

  "What do you want?" He asked.

  She feigned thinking, "Well, since my first born grandchild was denied from me, I shall accept your first born as payment." Her teeth, which were more like a wolf’s fangs, were bared in a winning grin.

  Mathieu could have laughed. Erik had perfectly predicted her demand. "That's a problem considering I'm gay. I would never take a woman." For added emphasis to his statement, Solomon put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

  "Ah. Then this means you have brought your...lover with you."

  Solomon's voice was slightly softer than normal as he spoke, "Silly woman, a man would not send his mate into the clutches of a beast alone."

  "Said the unnatural one. Where is your lovely sister, Solomon? I know she made the voyage with you."

  Mathieu stood before any more words could be exchanged, "Enough, I don’t have time for this. Do I have your support for my invasion or not?"

  Her body relaxed from the tense position she had taken, poised on the edge of her seat. "You will have my support, but should you win your campaign, you will leave me and mine alone. Complete autonomy. This is my offer."

  "That's fine. The invasion begins one week from tomorrow. I will send word of where to meet us." Mathieu said, still positioned between Anastasie and Solomon.

  She waved her hand. "That is sufficient. See your way out. And don't forget the trash." Her head tilted toward Solomon.

  ~*~

  Mathieu was walking beside Solomon back down the road, a frigid silence between them. Solomon and Anastasie's tense attitudes towards each other had created an awkward vibe as they left, all of the animals giving them cold regard.

  "How was I supposed to know that she was the Anastasie?" Solomon said with a frown.

  Mathieu frowned in return. "And what does that mean?"

  "She's been around for a lot longer than you think.” Solomon said, brow furrowed. “And she wasn't born here. Anastasie was born in Giath, where Mina and I come from. She was one of the most fearsome of her kind, those that change, and she made sport of hunting rare creatures. Mina and I were almost caught by her a handful of times before the dictator granted us asylum." He crossed his arms over his chest, having stopped walking while he talked.

  Mathieu rubbed his forehead. "You know what, that doesn't even matter. You couldn't behave for twenty minutes so I could close a deal and get us reinforcements. We'll be lucky if she shows up, now!" His exasperation had him throwing his hands in the air.

  "Oh yes, let me just forget about the years that my sister and I spent in terror, barely sleeping for fear that Anastasie would find us. I've felt her fang, Mathieu. It's not something you forget..."

  "Solomon, I love you so much, but I wish you had held your tongue until we were out of there." Sighing, he hugged Solomon. He didn’t want to fight, and it couldn’t be changed now. "Let's take today off, okay? We'll go back to that inn, get some dinner, and book a room. You and I can spend the night away from the others...." He smiled sweetly. “No Jo or Lione in our bed.”

  Solomon smiled, too. "That sound pretty nice, Mathieu."

  Mathieu kissed him before pulling away and taking off down the road at a sprint, hurtling a cart someone had stopped in the middle. Solomon was right behind him and chased him all the way to the inn. That was something Mathieu really did love about Solomon. Since they had become a ‘them’, Solomon didn’t hold onto his annoyance or anger anymore. At least not with him, and that was all that Mathieu wanted. They ended up panting on the wraparound porch of the inn, leaning against the wall.

  "I totally won." Mathieu said between large heaves of air.

  Solomon took a deep breath, and stood up straight. "In your dreams. But I'll pay for dinner, if you'll let me."

  Mathieu nodded and stood, too, following the blond into the dining area. They sat at a table by the window, waiting for the server. When she finally came around, Mathieu ordered a pasta and cheese plate, Solomon choosing a steak cooked rare. They smiled at each other, something sinfully unspoken between them.

  Chapter

  Twenty-Two

  Another week had passed since the meeting with his grandmother, and Mathieu was back home. Jo was still mad at him for not returning the next morning, but everyone had understood their need for a short break. As it was, evening was well on its way to falling, slowly darkening the landscape. Mathieu sat on the edge of the cliff, Avian's statue at his back. Before the invasion, he wanted to see his mother once more. He wondered if he could. Closing his eyes, Mathieu took a few deep breaths, reaching out for those he'd lost. This time, he pushed out of his body with ease and slid through the encroaching darkness into the light.

  Anita and Avian were waiting there for him, as was Nathan. The three smiled, his mother coming to hug him. She smelled like lilac, coffee, and sunshine.

  "Hey, mom. How are you?" He looked her over.

  She patted his hair, "I'm wonderful. And I like the hair." He had cut it the day before to his jaw, giving it a feathered look.

  "Thanks. Erik cut it. I didn't want it to get in the way once we start fighting." Mathieu turned to greet Nathan. "How are you doing?"

  The redhead grinned lazily. "Ah, better than you. Have you slept at all, lately?"

  "Between getting your son to open up, my father, and my relationship with Solomon, on top of the invasion, I haven't really had time." He smiled. “Lione is a good kid, you know.”

  Nathan laughed heartily, patting his shoulder. "You're doing fine, kid. And yeah, I know. He is my son, after all."

  Avian plowed passed the others and nearly tackled him to the floor, "Don't take so long to come see me, jeez. I missed you. And I saw that grandmother of yours. She was a re
al bitch."

  "Agreed, but she's going to help ensure our victory." He hugged her fiercely, "Narrie says hello, just so you know. As does Grandpa."

  "I miss them. But that's not what's important. Why are you here?"

  "I just wanted to see my family before..."

  "Before the fighting." Anita said in an understanding way. He found it hard to be mad she abandoned him since she was dead.

  Mathieu nodded slowly, "I don't know when I'll have the time to see you until after the invasion. And I didn't want you guys to feel like I'd forgotten you."

  "You better not forget me!" Avian said, putting him into a headlock.

  "How could I ever do that?" He relaxed into her hold.

  Anita rolled her eyes, "Break it up, you two. I want to see my son while he's here."

  "Thanks, Ma. Listen, I can't stay much longer because they'll be expecting me for dinner, but I love you. Erik and I really miss you, so much."

  She hugged him again, "I miss you, too. I wish we could have known each other. You better be careful, okay? Don't get hurt while you're fighting. Watch your father's back."

  "Yeah, yeah." They both smiled, their faces mirrors of each other. "I should get going soon." Even these short moments with the ones he had lost were worth it.

  "Could I have a minute before you go?" Avian said, seemingly shy.

  He nodded and kissed his mother's cheek before following his best friend a few feet away. Once out of earshot, she turned to him.

  "So, I have a favor to ask. You can say no, but I at least need to see..." She looked at the ground, tapping her foot on the ground in a nervous way. "With this invasion, I know you're one of the ones who will take the castle. I also know that you won't spare my father, and he doesn't deserve it, but...if you have it in you...could you maybe spare my mother? I mean if you can't, I'll understand, but if you can...I mean..."

  He punched her shoulder lightly, "For you Avian...anything. I wouldn't dream of hurting your mom. She was always good to me when I was there, and it meant everything to me. I love you, Sis. But I got to go. I'll be seeing you, alright?"

  She slammed into him with a hug before pulling away and pushing his arm hard. "See ya." Then she tripped him backwards, sending him falling back into the darkness and into his body.

  Mathieu sighed and opened his eyes. The whole exchange had probably taken less than five minutes, but he felt calmer now. It took him a moment before realizing someone was just behind him.

  Lione'a voice floated over his shoulder, "Are you back? I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but Enak wanted me to get you, and some scraggily kid is out front, claiming that he's here in response to the word you sent. I'm sorry if I bothered you...."

  "It's no issue. What's the kid's name?" He said as he got out of his seat.

  The raven thought for a moment, then said, "Vincent, I think."

  "Ah. I'm going to go see Enak, would you let Vincent in and get him something to eat if he's hungry?"

  "Oh, okay. Enak is upstairs." Lione stood there awkwardly for a moment before heading back for the headquarters.

  Mathieu followed and they parted way at the stairs; he went upstairs to find the god child. "Enak, you up here?"

  "Ow, yes." There was a thud, then Enak crawled out from under the desk, grinning. "I see Lione found you. Did you know Jo is mad at you? Well anyway, I want you to try summoning my power again."

  He rolled his eyes. "You've had me do it every day since I got back. I think I can do it just fine."

  "Humor me." The boy said.

  Sighing, Mathieu looked at the phoenix on his wrist, staring at it until the metal was a fiery gold, the warmth inside him building easily until it spread along his body from the point of the bird. All of his senses heightened and the air around him became hazy with power. Then he let his concentration go, the power dissipating as quickly as it had come. "Good enough?"

  "Why yes, it is. You can go. Oh, and if you see my shoe, will you let me know? Thanks." Enak crawled back under the table, another thud sounding.

  You've got to be kidding me... He sighed mentally, leaving the room. Enak was such a weirdo, and he asked for the most random thing. Mathieu was just glad it hadn’t taken long. Down below, he could hear voices arguing, which hastened his steps.

  Erik's voice was the first he could distinguish, "Kiev, leave him be."

  "A mysterious teen showing up the day before the start of our attack? That's so suspicious it's making me itch." She responded.

  Mathieu rounded the corner to see his father and Kiev both holding one of Vincent's arms, their hands like steel traps. "Let. Him. Go." Three pairs of eyes snapped to him before apologies were spilling from the guilty parties. Vincent was thin and willowy, with dark eyes too big for his head. He had a perpetual half-smile on his face, and his strawberry blond bangs fell into his eyes often.

  Vincent skittered off his stool to hide behind Mathieu, eyes wide. "Crazies..."

  Lione looked up at him from where he was petting the wild cat, next to a pouting Jo.

  "Sorry, Vincent. Listen, thank you for coming on such short notice. And for not eating Niveus."

  "Like nothing..." He smiled vacantly.

  Mathieu motioned to a stool, "I'm glad you came. I have a question or two before tomorrow." At the blank nod he received, he continued, all the while wondering if Vincent was touched in the head. "So the army Anastasie is forming...is it definitely going to be ready?"

  Suddenly, Vincent’s eyes came into focus and his voice was clear as a bell. "Of course it will be. It's always alive, just waiting in the labyrinth to be called upon. She will send it out with Banin tomorrow, and follow soon after."

  "Wait, Banin is coming to this thing?" Asked Erik.

  "Yes, Uncle. But my father wants you to know that he won't take his vengeance because Anastasie has given him orders, but someday you will answer to him." Vincent took a sip of water.

  Mathieu looked at him, confused, "Vengeance?"

  "Yes. Erik betrayed my father when he ran away to be with Anita. The things he was responsible for fell to Banin, including purging our family."

  "Purging?" Mathieu prompted.

  Vincent nodded, "Yes.” The teenager’s eyes became glossy again and a confused smile came over his face.

  "Vincent? What was that about purging?”

  “No idea.” Vincent said lazily.

  Studying the teen for a moment, Mathieu shook his head, "I was wondering if we could possibly incorporate one of your…guys into each of my units?"

  "Probably. I'll be in your group, 'cause my change is the fastest. Banin, Anastasie, Chadwell, and Luca are the other ones that can become wolves." Vincent's tone was becoming more and more absent, as was his gaze.

  Mathieu decided that was enough questions for now, and patted the boy's head. "Eat, drink, do whatever you want. Our home is yours."

  "Of course. I'd like to sleep if that's possible..."

  "I'll do it." Jo said, getting to his feet.

  Mathieu sighed as Jo brushed passed him, dragging Vincent with him. Mathieu then turned to the others, "Has anyone seen Enak's shoe...?"

  Erik grinned at him, "Haven't seen it. Did he lose it? Poor kid." It was clear that he didn’t feel bad in the slightest.

  "Okay, I know you have his shoe, but I don't want to know why. So I'll settle for knowing where Solomon got to." Mathieu said.

  Lione pointed to the door, "He went outside a few minutes ago. He and Mina were going to do some training, I believe."

  He looked out the window with concern. Their backyard area now had a forest, where he was fairly sure his beau was currently. "Damn it, I wanted to talk to him."

  "Then go find him, jeez." Kiev said.

  "He hates his time with Mina being interrupted." Mathieu said simply. "But it's fine. Erik, why did you take Enak's shoe?"

  "Because he's being a twit. He spent all last night barking at me. Literally, barking. Annoyed the crap out of me until he fell asleep. So I took his shoe."

&
nbsp; Mathieu gave his father a blank look, "I'll pretend that made some form of sense. Let me ask you something."

  "I'm going to smoke. Come with me." Erik led him onto the back porch, then lit up a cigarette, "Shoot on your question."

  Mathieu leaned against the headquarters and struggled to stifle a yawn. "It's about Anastasie. Solomon says she started in Giath, hunting people like him. Is that true?"

  "Yeah.” Erik said with surprisingly less struggle than Mathieu had expected. “Anastasie is an elder of our clan. Their 'gift' gave her eternal youth, so she's looked like that for a very long time. I think she was born close to eighty-five or ninety years ago." Erik said in a controlled way, betraying nothing.